Wikipedia page
© Wikipedia
Bowing to the power of the Internet, several key lawmakers withdrew support for anti-piracy legislation after a 24-hour blackout by thousands of websites Wednesday, likely quashing any chance the bills would pass in their current form.

Members of Congress faced a barrage of concerned and sometimes angry calls and e-mails from constituents made aware of the protests when they sat down at their computers.

The legislation - the Stop Online Piracy Act (a House bill commonly called SOPA) and the Protect IP Act in the Senate (called PIPA) - would allow U.S. attorneys general and copyright holders to enforce punitive actions against websites selling counterfeit goods or violating intellectual property rights.

Opponents say the bills go too far and threaten to shut down or censor legitimate websites that might inadvertently link to or display such content.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key sponsor of PIPA, withdrew his support, as did Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Writing on his Facebook page, Cornyn urged Congress to slow down in pursuing the bills' passage and that it is "better to get this done right rather than fast and wrong."

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., a co-sponsor of PIPA, also withdrew his support.

"The feedback I received from Arkansans has been overwhelmingly in opposition to the Senate bill in its current form," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., also said they oppose the bill in its current form.

"It's unlikely (that the bills will pass)," says Rob D'Ovidio, a cybersecurity professor at Drexel University. "Lawmakers pulling out today is a sign that they're dead upon arrival."

Thousands of websites - ranging from Wikipedia, Moveon.org and Reddit to small sites and individual blogs - went dark Wednesday, urging their users to call or e-mail their lawmaker representatives' offices and tweet en masse against the twin bills.

Supporters, including publishers, media companies, movie studios and pharmaceutical manufacturers, say the legislation would save jobs and generate more revenue for business.

It was a hectic day also for congressional staffers manning the phones and maintaining websites. The home page of Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, failed to load for parts of the day. Gizmodo, a tech blog, also reported that the sites of Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were slow to load or down at times during the day.

Chris Dodd, CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, called the protest a "gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently." Hollywood's lobbyist is the former Democratic senator from Connecticut.