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Sen. Leahy will look at anti-piracy alternative
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said on Wednesday he will take a look at the OPEN Act, an alternative to his anti-piracy bill, the Protect IP Act.
"We'll look at it," Leahy said. He added he plans to work with the bill's sponsor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Congressional leaders were forced to pull Leahy's Protect IP Act and its House counterpart, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), last week after a Web protest sparked an explosion of voter anger over the issue.
The OPEN Act was introduced by the leading critics of Leahy's legislation.
But critics of the legislation argue the bills would stifle innovation and censor free speech.
The alternative bill, OPEN, would authorize the U.S. International Trade Commission, rather than the Justice Department, to go after the foreign pirate sites. The bill focuses on a “follow the money” approach by aiming to cut off revenue to the websites instead of requiring other sites to delete links.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a fierce opponent of SOPA and Protect IP, introduced OPEN in the House.
An aide to Sen. Leahy clarified that the senator did not mean to imply his Judiciary Committee will take up the legislation. The measure has been referred to the Finance Committee.
Leahy made the comments after speaking at the Congressional Internet Caucus reception on Capitol Hill.
In his prepared remarks, Leahy said Congress must remain vigilant to ensure that new technologies do not erode rights to free speech or privacy. He added that it is possible to protect the right to property, including intellectual property, without hurting other rights.
He said he met with Chief Justice John Roberts and praised the Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Jones that installing a GPS tracking device on a suspect's car qualifies as a search under the Fourth Amendment.
—Updated on Jan. 26 at 10:00 a.m.
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