new congress bill censor ship of you tube videos being submitted

An upcoming version of U.S. legislation designed to defend the music industry on the Web may
include provisions that hold online services such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube legally
responsible for infringing material posted by users, according to one group opposed to the bill.

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to introduce a new version of the
Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act
(the PROTECT IP Act or PIPA) this week. The bill could be similar to a version of the PROTECT
IP Act approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in May, but could include new legal liabilities
for websites and online services that host user-generated content, said Demand Progress, a liberal
civil liberties group opposed to the legislation.

The Senate version of the bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders
requiring search engines and ISPs to stop sending traffic to websites accused of infringing
copyright. The Senate bill would also allow copyright holders to seek court orders requiring
payment processors and online ad networks to stop doing business with allegedly infringing websites.

If Demand Progress is correct about the House version of PROTECT IP, the bill would overturn parts
of the 13-year-old Digital Millennium Copyright Act that protect websites and ISPs from copyright
lawsuits for the infringing activity of their users. "Our allies on [Capitol] Hill say the bill's
so bad that it could effectively destroy Youtube, Twitter, and other sites that rely on user-generated
content by making the sites' owners legally responsible for everything their users post,"
the group said in an alert to members.

Let Congress know you oppose the music industry’s new bill and attempt to censor the Internet.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show

More than 30,000 U.S. residents sent messages to their lawmakers early Tuesday, Demand Progress said,
after the group called on its members to ask their elected representatives to refuse to sponsor the
House version of PROTECT IP. The House version is expected to be introduced this week by Representatives
Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, and Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican.

Demand Progress will oppose the House bill if it looks like the Senate version, said David Segal,
Demand Progress' executive director. "We ask even those lawmakers who are leaning towards supporting it
to hold back for now, decline cosponsorship, and listen to opponents' concerns," he said in an email.
"The Senate version of PROTECT IP will stifle free speech and innovation -- and all indications are that
the House version will be even worse."

A spokeswoman for Goodlatte declined to comment on the legislation, referring questions to the House
Judiciary Committee, where Smith is chairman. A spokeswoman for Smith didn't respond to a request for
information about the bill.

Several other groups have raised concerns about PROTECT IP. On Monday, trade groups the Consumer Electronics
Association, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetCoalition sent a letter to Smith,
Goodlatte and other House Judiciary Committee members, asking them to hold off on legislation and wait for
more input from affected groups.

The three trade groups also sent a letter to other House members, asking them to consider potential
"collateral damage" to the Internet before co-sponsoring PROTECT IP. The stakes are high, the letter said.
"The technology industry is leading America out of the recession, and inadvertent damage to the tech sector
could not happen at a worse time."

Please tell Congress No to internet censorship of websites.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show