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PIPA Loses Support From Co-Sponsor Marco Rubio [UPDATED]

As important parts of the Internet protest, Congress begins to take notice.

Marco Rubio is a rising star in the Republican party, and him pulling support is a big win.
Marco Rubio is a rising star in the Republican party, and him pulling support is a big win.

UPDATE 2: And plenty more, according to the Washington Post.

UPDATE: Add Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to the pile.

"After listening to the concerns on both sides of the debate over the PROTECT IP Act," he revealed on Twitter, "it is simply not ready for prime time."

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A number of sites have “gone black” today in protest of the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), and the latter has just lost one of its co-sponsors in the Senate.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) announced his change of heart on his Facebook page today.

“We've heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government's power to impact the Internet,” said Rubio. “Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.”

Both SOPA and PIPA grapple with mounting concerns by Hollywood and other creative industries about piracy, but both have come under intense scrutiny. The intent of the bills may be sound, but as Rubio puts it, the "unintended consequences" could have a major impact on the way much of the Internet functions today.

Before DNS redirection was removed from SOPA, if a media company believed a website was infringing on its copyright, it could request ISPs redirect the website, essentially taking it offline, until the dispute was resolved. You can see why companies like Facebook and Google would be worried, and why we were keeping a close eye.

“I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor,” he continued. “Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.”

Patrick Klepek on Google+