SOPA Shelved: Controversial Bill Returned for Reconsideration

Protests against the infamous Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) have proven effective.

The law's authors have removed the most controversial provisions. Specifically, the document no longer includes the requirement to block websites with illegal content using DNS. This provision obligated American hosting and internet providers, as well as search engines, to block websites suspected of infringing copyright. Such blocking didn't require a court order—a simple request from the copyright holder was sufficient. This means that providers will no longer be required to block websites with illegal content, restricting access to them for US users.

The bill's author, Lamar Smith, expressed his willingness to amend the bill. Specifically, he stated: "We will continue to seek ways to ensure that foreign websites cannot sell and distribute illegal content to American consumers."

Let us remember that against the documentperformedThe largest Internet companies are Facebook, Google, Twitter, Mozilla and many others.

Representatives of the US presidential administration have spoken out in support of those protesting SOPA, declaring their negative attitude towards SOPA in their official blog and calling the document a threat to freedom of speech.

Until recently, there was a law in the US that allowed pirated websites to be blocked following a court ruling. This was accomplished through the DNS system and certain actions by internet service providers.

Security experts also called SOPA dangerous from a modern technology perspective. Blocking websites via the DNS system could also mean removing certain security protocols, such as DNSSEC. This poses a direct threat to internet security, which is especially relevant today.