A Perspective on the PROTECT IP (a.k.a. E-PARASITE) Bill
S.968 is a proposed bill intending to require service providers to block access to certain sites, simply based on the accusation that the sites may promote copyright infringement.
The Senate first introduced PROTECT IP Act to target sites that were “dedicated to infringing activities” but once the bill got into the House and was given its confusing new name, the bill’s reach expanded to target any “foreign infringing sites.”
The bill is apparently not trying to change existing standards of trademark or copyright law, but rather it seeks to enable harsher penalties for those who would choose to infringe upon them.
But these days PROTECT IP, along with its companion SOPA, is proving to be a controversy heavily discussed all over the Internet.
For more information on PROTECT IP, here is a comprehensive video explaining why many people, including law professors, are concerned about this bill.