Issa calls hearing on Domain Name Service, search engine blocking for Jan. 18

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced a Jan. 18 hearing on the potential impact of Domain Name Service (DNS) and search engine blocking on the Internet on Monday, escalating the feud within the Republican Party over the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

“An open Internet is crucial to American job creation, government operations, and the daily routines of Americans from all walks of life,” Issa said. “The public deserves a full discussion about the consequences of changing the way Americans access information and communicate on the Internet today.”

Issa has been a harsh critic of SOPA, banding together with fellow Judiciary Committee members Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) to successfully stall a two-day marathon December markup by endlessly debating a slew of amendments to the legislation.

The bill would require search engines and other Web firms to block foreign sites deemed dedicated to copyright infringement. Critics, including much of the Internet community, argue the law's provisions and impact on the DNS system would result in censorship and stifle innovation.

The Web's opposition to the bill spiked during the lone Judiciary hearing on the bill, which featured just one witness opposed to the legislation: a Google representative that spent much of the hearing as the target for lawmaker and content industry complaints about the availability of pirated content online.

The content industries claim online piracy is killing their bottom lines and argue they are simply asking for the same enforcement mechanisms used to block child pornography. They point to the loss of jobs and support from interests as divergent as the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Supporters have assembled a broad coalition of bipartisan support on both the House and Senate Judiciary committees after years of intense lobbying. SOPA's Senate companion, the PROTECT IP Act, is scheduled to come up for a floor vote this month after easily clearing the Judiciary Committee.

But the backlash from the online community has temporarily suspended a bill that had been fast-tracked for the House floor. And Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has placed a hold on the Senate bill, vowing to filibuster it if it comes to the floor. The White House has yet to issue an official position on either bill.

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