Support for US anti-piracy laws wane

WASHINGTON - A day after blackout online protests against US' anti-piracy laws, key American lawmakers Thursday withdrew their support to the controversial legislations for punitive actions against websites selling counterfeit goods or violating intellectual property rights. The withdrawal of the support is likely to quash any chance that the bills would pass in their current form. Two of the bill's co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those who backed out. This comes a day after some websites shut down in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, a piece of proposed legislation that is working its way through Congress. A Senate committee approved a similar bill in May called the Protect IP Act (PIPA), which is now pending before the full Senate. Both bills focus on responding to online piracy, specifically illegal copies of films and other media. The bills would also outlaw sites from containing information about how to access blocked sites. But the Wednesday protest may have changed the minds of lawmakers. "We can find a solution that will protect lawful content. But this bill is flawed that's why I'm withdrawing my support," Republican Senenator Roy Blunt wrote on his official Twitter page. x Republican Senator Rubio also reversed his position. "I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor," Rubio wrote on a Facebook post. Rep Lee Terry (R-Neb.), an original co-sponsor of SOPA, said: "Thank you for your concern about SOPA. I have asked to have my name removed from the bill. However, the economic impact of IP theft is real and a solution is needed." Wikipedia, one of the websites that shut down on Wednesday, returned Thursday with the message: "Thank you for protecting Wikipedia. We're not done yet."