Senator Schumer More Or Less Admits His 'Media Shield' Law Won't Protect Actual Journalists. There had been a time when we thought that a "media shield" law was a good idea.
Such a law would make it explicit that journalists don't have to give up their sources. However, over the many, many years of the debate concerning such a law, we noticed a troubling pattern, in that politicians kept wanting to narrowly limit who was a "journalist," often saying amateur journalists don't count. Senator Lindsey Graham even explicitly stated that he wasn't sure if bloggers deserved First Amendment protections. A completely out of touch Senator Dianne Feinstein insisted that "real journalists" draw salaries from big media companies. When Wikileaks first became a big deal, those working on the legislation actually worked hard to make sure that Wikileaks would not be covered. Chuck Schumer's Brother Tied To Comcast Deal He Supports. Chuck Schumer wants us to stop picking on Wall Street. Sen.
Chuck Schumer: "Leave Wall Street aloooone! " Schumer Proposes Gun Control Amendment to Senate Version of CISPA. Full Text of S. 3205: Ex-PATRIOT Act. Slash blog » My Call to Senator Schumer’s Office on PIPA: It’s So Much Worse Than I Thought. Today I called a Senator’s office for the first time.
First, let me say how fantastic it is that when you call the office, a real-live human picks up the phone and can speak to you. There’s no annoying menus, no transfers, no answering machines. Washington, please don’t ever change this. I was calling mostly to find out why the Senator supports (and co-sponsored!) S.968, aka the PROTECT IP Act aka PIPA. What I got was a reminder of how dangerous this legislation will be, for people who care about: -the internet -technology innovation -creativity -freedom of speech -startups and job creation -facebook, tumblr, youtube, reddit, 4chan, and any other major site that touches user-generated content OK so back to my phone call. The guy on the other end of the phone said: “well, he’s a co-sponsor so he’s not changing his position.” He must have known why I was calling. Asked the same question again. . ….whhhhhhat? “Yes.” Next stop: To Kill a Mockingbird no longer allowed in public schools.
Moving on. Supporters of SOPA, PIPA stick to their guns. Beleaguered supporters of two online antipiracy bills today downplayed widespread protests against the legislation and insisted the opposition is misguided and misinformed.
Supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) labeled today's protests by Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and others as political stunts that contribute little to the debate around the pros and cons of the two bills. One example is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been a vocal supporter of antipiracy legislation. In a statement, Steve Tapp, the chamber's chief counsel on intellectual property, said the protest was unwarranted considering the changes that have already been made to both bills in response to concerns.
"The PROTECT IP Act and SOPA have been modified by their sponsors to address concerns by removing entirely the provision that would have required blocking of criminal sites," Tapp said. New Yorkers Protest Sopa & PIPA Bills. Hundreds of protestors have gathered in New York to join in on the SOPA/PIPA protests, reports CNN Money.
Internet giants like Google, Wikipedia and more have staged a massive online protest against proposed anti-piracy legislation but now the opposition has become more palpable. According to CNN Money, members of the New York tech community massed outside the offices of U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday afternoon in a protest coordinated by NY Tech Meetup, a local networking group. "We're here to make sure our senators know that the New York tech community, which employs tens of thousands of people, really will not take no for an answer," said Nate Westheimer, one of the protest's organizers. "The provisions that are being suggested right now would undermine the way the Internet works. " Watch the following video for a detailed explanation of the bills: Similar protests are scheduled to take place Wednesday in San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Sen. Schumer’s Office Says He’s Still Carefully Considering PIPA. Retracts dreaded "c-word.
" By Adrianne Jeffries 1/13 8:25pm Share this: Sen. Schumer. (wikipedia.org) NYC's Tech Industry Protests SOPA & PIPA Outside Offices Of Senators Schumer And Gillibrand. Schumer, Gillibrand say they'll fix SOPA/PIPA. Wednesday January 18, 2012 3:24 PM By Tom Brune in Washington The day of protest about congressional legislation to stop the piracy of movies, music, etc., by offshore websites -- with side effects that many charge would stifle and censor the Internet -- had its effects.
As the New York Tech Meetup 2012 staged a protest (see in Manhattan against New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, two of the co-sponsors of PIPA (Protect IP Act), the two Democrats issued a statement today saying they'd fix the bill. "We will continue to work with our colleagues to ensure a proper balance between stopping the theft of intellectual property and copyright infringement, and doing so without the unintended consequence of stifling or censoring the internet, which we strongly oppose," Schumer and Gillibrand said.
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