Consumer group accuses Hollywood of 'threatening politicians'

Consumer group Public Knowledge on Friday accused the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and its head, former Sen. Chris Dodd, of trying to intimidate lawmakers into supporting a pair of controversial anti-piracy bills.

In recent days, Dodd and other top Hollywood figures have threatened to cut off campaign donations to politicians who do not support their effort to crackdown on online copyright infringement.

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake," Dodd said on Fox News on Thursday.

"Threats like that are no way to conduct the serious, sober discussions needed to figure out exactly what ails the movie industry and to come up with solutions," Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge, said in a statement. "It was Hollywood’s arrogance in pushing bills through Congress without proper vetting that caused them to be withdrawn; these threats also are not helpful to figuring out what ails the industry and how to solve their issues. As the Blackout Day showed, that type of thinking is how the old politics works."

The MPAA, along with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have been lobbying hard for Congress to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act.

But congressional leaders shelved the bills on Friday after thousands of websites staged an unprecedented protest earlier in the week. 

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