Tech entrepreneurs oppose online copyright bill

A group of prominent technology entrepreneurs including Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman wrote to Congress Thursday voicing their opposition to a controversial Senate bill designed to target online copyright violators.

The Protect IP Act would give the Justice Department and copyright holders new tools to go after serial copyright violators, including forcing third-parties such as search engines, ad networks and payment processors to cut off services to the sites.

A host of groups representing the entertainment, software and other industries are strong backers of the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in May but was placed on hold by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). He argued the bill is an overreach that imperils free speech and innovation on the Internet. 

Wyden's point of view was echoed by the entrepreneurs, who said the legislation's definition of "rogue sites" is overly vague and would likely place a burden on smaller tech firms.

"These burdens will be particularly intense for small businesses who can’t easily afford the legal fees, infrastructure costs or staff required to remain in compliance with broadly worded laws in a rapidly changing ecosystem," the letter states.

The letter argues that legitimate Web businesses already comply with the notice-and-takedown system of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which places the legal liability on actual infringers rather than third parties.

"As Web entrepreneurs and Web users, we want to ensure that artists and great creative content can thrive online. But this isn’t the right way to address the underlying issue," the entrepreneurs write.

"Introducing this new regulatory weapon into the piracy arms race won’t stop the arms race, but it will ensure there will be more collateral damage along the way."

---