Wyden to read petition names during copyright filibuster

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) plans to read the names of people who have signed a petition to oppose the Protect IP Act as he attempts to block the legislation on the Senate floor, according to advocacy group Demand Progress.

The Protect IP Act, which is the Senate counterpart to the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), would empower the government and copyright holders to demand that search engines, advertisers and payment processors block access to websites "dedicated to copyright infringement." It is sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and is strongly backed by the entertainment industry and business groups. They say the measure is necessary to curb online copyright infringement.

 But Internet companies and consumer advocacy groups argue the bill would impose unreasonable burdens on websites and could lead to censorship of the Internet.

Demand Progress is lobbying to kill the bill and has set up an online petition so people can urge their representatives to oppose it.   

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Protect IP Act in May, but Wyden quickly announced he would place a hold on the measure.

A hold is a procedural maneuver in which a senator informs the chamber's leadership that he opposes bringing a measure to a vote and that he intends to extend the debate on the bill for as long as possible through a filibuster. It requires 60 votes to end a filibuster and proceed to a vote.

Demand Progress notes that in the past, senators have read the dictionary or cookbooks to delay a vote on a bill.

"Millions of Americans support Internet freedom. What better way to demonstrate our strength than to ask Senator Wyden to read our names into the record during his filibuster?" the group writes on its website. 

Wyden plans to enter any names that he doesn't read into the congressional record.

Demand Progress expects the measure to come up for a vote after Congress returns from its Thanksgiving recess. 

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