Vox Populi, in ancient Latin terms, means “voice of the people.” And, when it comes to the highly contentious U.S. House of Representatives Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation and the Senate’s parallel Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), for the moment the voice of the people has been both heard and heeded. A little back of the hand slap from the Obama Administration last weekend probably did not hurt either.

As shouted in the form of this week’s blackout Wednesday protests —that shuttered popular websites Wikipedia and got sympathy from many others like Google (News - Alert), and generated voluminous vitriolic posts and emails — in the collision of free speech vs. free enterprise, for the moment expression trumped property protection.   

Almost simultaneously today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said they would put aside debate and votes on the controversial legislation so the two legislative bodies have time to revisit the issues.

Say it is so!

Here is what the respective leaders had to say:

Smith: “I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” Smith said. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”   

Reid:  “There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved,” Reid said in a statement. “Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs. We must take action to stop these illegal practices.”

Reid said he is “optimistic” the Senate can reach a compromise on the legislation in the coming weeks, and added that, “I admire the work that Chairman [Patrick] Leahy has put into this bill…I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’ intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet.”

Live to fight another day

While a blow to both powerful leaders, especially given the rarity that initial support for both SOPA and PIPA was bi-partisan, there is a saying that covers this. “Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day.”   This is an election year. Members of Congress need contributions from the Internet chieftains in Silicon Valley as well as the media moguls in Hollywood and New York who are tired of seeing the loss of revenues from pirated intellectual property.   It also turns out that this issue is one people find compelling, i.e., might take revenge on those who oppose their views at the polls and clearly, there are many more voices in favoring of keeping the Internet unencumbered than care about corporate profits and content creator compensation.  

Hence, from a totally Machiavellian perspective, Congress, despite what Reid says, is likely to keep this unresolved until after the elections. After all, why look a gift horse in the mouth. That does not mean there will not be a lot of activity like hearings, maybe even mark-ups and votes, but legislation that the president will sign, seems problematic. 

I hate to seem so cynical, but as someone who started his telecom career as a lobbyist and watched “reform” take from 1976 to 1996 for a bill that was hardly pro-consumer, the game doesn’t change. Now that the temperature has been taken as to the level of pushback and its intensity, it is no longer in the interests of Congress to actually pass a bill. 

As stated in my previous item on this, we do need legislation that protects both expression and property rights and SOPA and PIPA, while directionally correct, were deeply flawed once you actually read the bills and ignored the hyperventilation. Will it be this year? Not likely, but it would be nice to be wrong on this prediction.

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