While some may view the shelving of the infamous piracy bills as the death of both SOPA and PIPA, both bills remain alive with active supporters in both houses of the U.S. government. This means the bills are not dead at all. Dormant is perhaps a better descriptor, but make no mistake, the anti-piracy bills have not been buried and forgotten.
As pointed out by TechDirt, Govtrack.us shows that, despite the incredible backlash both bills received, those that want to regulate the Internet with an ironclad fist have kept the bills on life support. Perhaps they are waiting for Americans to move to another trending topic before SOPA and PIPA “miraculously” return. Whatever the case, the opposition to a free and open Internet still exists, and with sufficient numbers, too.
The remaining SOPA supporters, courtesy of Govtrack:
Mark Amodei [R-NV2]
Joe Baca [D-CA43]
John Barrow [D-GA12]
Karen Bass [D-CA33]
Howard Berman [D-CA28]
Marsha Blackburn [R-TN7]
Mary Bono Mack [R-CA45]
Steven Chabot [R-OH1]
Judy Chu [D-CA32]
John Conyers [D-MI14]
Jim Cooper [D-TN5]
Ted Deutch [D-FL19]
Elton Gallegly [R-CA24]
Robert Goodlatte [R-VA6]
Peter King [R-NY3]
John Larson [D-CT1]
Thomas Marino [R-PA10]
Alan Nunnelee [R-MS1]
William Owens [D-NY23]
Adam Schiff [D-CA29]
Brad Sherman [D-CA27]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL20]
Melvin Watt [D-NC12]
Support for PIPA, the Senate version of SOPA, still has a heartbeat as well:
Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]
Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
Robert Casey [D-PA]
Thad Cochran [R-MS]
Chris Coons [D-DE]
Bob Corker [R-TN]
Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Michael Enzi [R-WY]
Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
Al Franken [D-MN]
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
Charles Grassley [R-IA]
Kay Hagan [D-NC]
John Isakson [R-GA]
Tim Johnson [D-SD]
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
Joseph Lieberman [I-CT]
John McCain [R-AZ]
Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
Bill Nelson [D-FL]
Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]
Tom Udall [D-NM]
Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Perhaps the most unfortunate discovery is seeing Al Franken’s name on the PIPA supporters list. Considering his personal crusade concerning location privacy in relation to mobile phones and their carriers, the fact that he supports such potentially destructive legislation is disappointing; but then again, Franken did get his start in show business, so perhaps he’s just supporting the industry that made him famous.
Whatever happens to these pieces of legislation, it’s clear it’s going to take more than an Internet blackout to hold the attention of those officials who believe a regulated Internet is the only way to protect the future of the entertainment industry.