House Democrat pulls support for SOPA

Former sponsors continue to withdraw their support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) after the controversial online piracy bill was shelved last week in response to massive outcry from the Internet community.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) became the latest lawmaker to withdraw his support for the bill on Monday by removing his name as a sponsor. SOPA stalled last week after Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and primary sponsor Lamar Smith (R-Texas) agreed there was insufficient consensus to move forward.

“It is clear that steps need to be taken to combat online piracy, but after further review, I have decided that I can no longer support SOPA in its current form," Luján said. 

"After listening to them and talking with folks in the district over the weekend, I took another hard look at the bill. While we need to take steps to address online piracy, we must also protect the unique qualities of the Internet.”

Protests last Wednesday lead by sites like Wikipedia, Google and reddit helped rally the public to oppose SOPA and its Senate counterpart the Protect IP Act, which would require search engines and other Web firms to delete links to foreign sites deemed dedicated to copyright infringement.

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy," Smith said Friday, reversing his earlier stance that critics' concerns were overblown.

"The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution."