Some of the early supporters of two controversial online piracy bills are having second thoughts -- and other undecided lawmakers are pledging opposition -- in the wake of Internet protests by websites like Wikipedia, reddit, Mozilla and thousands more.
Jennifer Martinez, David Saleh Rauf and Tony Romm, Politico
Numerous websites, including heavyweights like Google, Wikipedia and Craigslist, were blacked out Wednesday to take part in the protest against SOPA and PIPA. The blackout protest was not just an impressive show of force; it also seemed to succeed in making millions of people who don't usually follow every single piece of tech news aware of the bills.
Janko Roettgers, GigaOM
When Google speaks, the world listens. And, when Google asked its users to sign a petition protesting two anti-piracy bills circulating in Congress, millions responded. A spokeswoman for Google confirmed that 4.5 million people added their names to the company's anti-SOPA petition. Not too shabby.
Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times
The Web buzzed with protests large and small as the tech industry rallied against congressional legislation to curb Internet piracy. Some sites blacked out while others, including Google and Craigslist, draped their pages with information about the bills, or restricted access. Many startups quickly cobbled together tech solutions to support their cause. The effort was an unusual orchestration that began gathering steam online and escalated, eventually whipping the Web into a frenzy.
Jenna Wortham, New York Times
Thank you for standing up for what's important, for continuing to speak out and for demonstrating that we should always stand up for what we think is right regardless of the odds. This is an opportunity to reshape the way Washington operates, not just responding to narrow interests but hearing the voices of millions of Americans whose rights and livilihoods are affected by our actions.
Sen. Ron Wyden, Huffington Post
Rep. Darrell Issa officially introduced H.R. 3782, the OPEN Act, which is being shopped by critics of the Stop Online Piracy Act as a more Internet-friendly way to combat online piracy.
John Eggerton, Multichannel News
Proposals under consideration in Washington, D.C. this year could help communities reclaim local airwaves, but they could just as easily play into the hands of the content mills. The proposals, and the processes for adopting them, are complicated and hard to navigate. So we decided to break down exactly what's at stake, and why it's essential for all of us to speak up for media that serves our communities, not corporations.
Libby Reinish, SavetheNews.org
As television networks have covered Internet companies' positions against antipiracy legislation before Congress this week, they have had to consider whether to disclose the positions of their parent companies -- virtually all of which have campaigned in favor of it.
Brian Stelter, New York Times
The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. looks set to settle at great expense a string of legal claims after admitting wide-scale phone hacking that was both known about and concealed by senior management.
Georgina Prodhan and Kate Holton, Reuters
Actor Jude Law is among 36 victims of phone hacking who settled with Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company. Law, whose phone was repeatedly hacked by now-shuttered tabloid News of the World, received $200,000 in damages, one month before the first civil phone-hacking trial kicks off in London. Murdoch's News International could face a settlement bill running into the tens of millions as further hacking victims bring claims.
Sonia van Gilder Cooke, Time
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