OVERNIGHT TECH: Internet piracy bill's future uncertain as House returns

By Brendan Sasso - 01/16/12 06:55 PM ET

THE LEDE: The future of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has grown murky as House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has all but declared the bill dead, but the measure's sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has vowed to push ahead.

Issa said early Saturday morning that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) promised him the House will not vote on the bill unless there is a consensus.

"While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act, I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House," Issa said in a statement. "Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote."

On Twitter, Issa said he was "confident" the bill would not move forward.

Cantor's office did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Issa's statement.

Although Smith has not responded directly to his fellow GOP chairman's comments, he promised on Saturday to push ahead with the legislation. His Judiciary Committee still needs to vote on the bill before it can reach the House floor.

"Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while some of America’s most profitable and productive industries are under attack," Smith said. "The White House has urged Congress to act this year. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that protects free speech, the Internet and America’s intellectual property. The Stop Online Piracy Act does just that and I look forward to working with the White House and the Senate towards its enactment this year.”

Issa, who is a former chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association, is close with the tech community and has been an outspoken critic of SOPA. He had scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to examine the bill's potential negative consequences but canceled it after speaking with Cantor.

SOPA is designed to go after foreign websites that offer illegal copies of music, movies and TV shows with impunity. The bill would empower the Justice Department and copyright holders to demand that search engines delete links to sites “dedicated” to copyright infringement. Ad networks and payment processors would be prohibited from doing business with the sites.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to bring the Senate version, the Protect IP Act, to a vote on Jan. 24.

Opponents of piracy bill rally on Capitol Hill: Opponents of the anti-piracy legislation will hold a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Speakers will include Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of reddit; Cato Institute fellow Julian Sanchez; and Jayme White, a legislative assistant to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The event will take place at the Senate Visitor Center at 12:15 p.m.

ICYMI:

Wikipedia will shut down on Wednesday to protest the Internet piracy bills, founder Jimmy Wales announced Monday.

T-Mobile defended the Federal Communications Commission in a statement on Friday, criticizing AT&T for the first time since the companies abandoned their plan to merge.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter over the weekend to criticize President Obama and Google for their stance on the anti-piracy legislation.

--Updated at 6:58 p.m.