In an Associated Press article written by Alan Fram, it is noted that the "outgunned" and outspent online and technology companies froze and stopped restrictive legislation that was aimed at internet piracy, but which also might have crimped internet growth and technology advances.
From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the National Songwriters Association, lobbyists descended upon Capitol Hill to support the anti-piracy legislation. But out of nowhere came a tidal wave of internet messages against this legislation, as well as standing in support of the 75,000 websites that went dark for a day [including, famously, the English-language Wikipedia site – a recent post of this very blog]. Protest leaders told the Associated Press that objections to the legislation totaled 3 million emails.
Google, its logo hidden beneath a stark black rectangle, solicited 7 million signatures on a petition opposing the bills. Craigslist counted 30,000 phone calls to lawmakers and there were 3.9 million tweets on Twitter about the bills, according to NetCoalition, which represents leading Internet and high tech companies.
"It's still something we're trying to comprehend," said Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith. "We had such an overwhelming response to our petition that it honestly far exceeded our expectations."
Bipartisan support for regulating the internet collapsed under the force of emails and petitions. Some feel a "watershed moment" has arrived in which the internet and its technical and entrepreneurial elements have announced their arrival as a lobbying force in Washington, at least as far as protecting their legal status.
Some of the critics of internet piracy legislation agree that piracy is a problem, but their position has been that the legislation goes too far, restricting free speech, strangling technical innovation and over-burdening online businesses.
Maplight, a nonpartisan group which analyzes money’s role in politics, shows that online businesses are rapidly increasing their lobbying activity in Washington, particularly Google and Facebook. Richard Gephardt (formerly the leader of House democrats as well as a presidential candidate) has been retained as a lobbyist for Google.
Much more at:http://news.yahoo.com/influence-game-online-companies-win-piracy-fight-172037329.html
From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the National Songwriters Association, lobbyists descended upon Capitol Hill to support the anti-piracy legislation. But out of nowhere came a tidal wave of internet messages against this legislation, as well as standing in support of the 75,000 websites that went dark for a day [including, famously, the English-language Wikipedia site – a recent post of this very blog]. Protest leaders told the Associated Press that objections to the legislation totaled 3 million emails.
"It's still something we're trying to comprehend," said Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith. "We had such an overwhelming response to our petition that it honestly far exceeded our expectations."
Bipartisan support for regulating the internet collapsed under the force of emails and petitions. Some feel a "watershed moment" has arrived in which the internet and its technical and entrepreneurial elements have announced their arrival as a lobbying force in Washington, at least as far as protecting their legal status.
Some of the critics of internet piracy legislation agree that piracy is a problem, but their position has been that the legislation goes too far, restricting free speech, strangling technical innovation and over-burdening online businesses.
Maplight, a nonpartisan group which analyzes money’s role in politics, shows that online businesses are rapidly increasing their lobbying activity in Washington, particularly Google and Facebook. Richard Gephardt (formerly the leader of House democrats as well as a presidential candidate) has been retained as a lobbyist for Google.
Much more at:http://news.yahoo.com/influence-game-online-companies-win-piracy-fight-172037329.html
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