SOPA author and US Representative Lamar Smith of Texas has removed a controversial component of the bill, which would have required Internet Service Providers to block access to non-US websites accused of copyright and piracy violations.
According to an official statement released from his office today, after consulting with “industry groups across the country,” Smoth removed DNS blocking from the bill so the Committee could “further examine the issues surrounding the provision.”
Should mandatory DNS blocking have been put into place, ISPs would have “to remove certain security protocols, like DNSSEC, which adds an extra layer of security to websites by checking for a special DNS signature to prove that the site is actually what it claims to be,” explained VentureBeat. ISPs such as Comcast use DENSSEC in order to further secure its network.
However, even with the DNS blocking section removed, supporters of SOPA may still seek to have sites accused of copyright infringement and piracy “de-indexed from popular search engines” or prevent the site from using payment services such as PayPal.
Meanwhile, the author of the Protect IP Act (PIPA), Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, has said more study was needed regarding DNS blocking before his bill goes to vote. This bit of backpedaling was due to the outpouring of protest from his constituents.
“I and the bill’s co-sponsors have continued to hear concerns about the Domain Name provision from engineers, human rights groups, and others,” Leahy said in a statement. “I have also heard from a number ...
