Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Twitter, AOL, and eBay Oppose Proposed Legislation About Copyright Regulation

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) executive chairman Eric Schmidt has been vocal about proposed legislation regarding online copyright regulation today and said that the PROTECT IP Act in the U.S. Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives would censor the Internet. This bill is intended to combat pirated movies and music and allow copyright holders and law enforcement officials the ability to cut off websites.

“The solutions are draconian,” stated Schmidt at an appearance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “There’s a bill that would require (Internet service providers) to remove URLs from the Web, which is also known as censorship last time I checked.”

As an alternative to the proposed legislation, Schmidt recommends regulations based on tracing payments spent at websites that offers illegal materials. Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Twitter, AOL, eBay and a few other technology companies have sent a letter to lawmakers opposing the bills.

“We are concerned that these measures pose a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation’s cybersecurity,” stated the companies.

[Reuters]

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