Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is trying to save the Internet from censorship. On Friday, Wyden was demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security about an inappropriate domain seizure program known as Operation in Our Sites.
The Operation in Our Sites program is coming under scrutiny after it was revealed that the government returned a hip-hop music review site to its owner after holding the site for a year without affording the owner a chance to challenge the seizure.
Wyden spokesperson Jennifer Hoelzer told Wired Magazine:
“I expect the administration will be receiving a series of FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] requests from our office and that the senator will have very pointed questions with regard to how the administration chooses to target the sites that it does."
Can Ron Wyden save the Internet from SOPA and Protect IP?
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has been a tireless advocate for Internet freedom. Wyden has been a staunch opponent of the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (Protect IP) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), both of which threaten to destroy the Internet as we know it.
Last month Wyden pledged to filibuster the Protect IP Act. By reading the names of people who have signed a petition to oppose the Protect IP Act, Wyden hopes to block the legislation if it comes to the Senate floor,.
The Protect IP Act and SOPA threaten to destroy the Internet by giving the government and corporations new powers to: 1) block access to sites that are accused of copyright infringement, 2) force sites like YouTube to go to new lengths to police users' contributions, and 3) put people in prison for streaming some content online.
Last week Senator Wyden, a Democrat, and Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, released a bi-partisan alternative to the anti-piracy legislation currently under consideration by the House and Senate called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act.
The OPEN Act claims to secure two fundamental principles: First, Americans have a right to benefit from what they've created. And second, Americans have a right to an open Internet.
The legislation would use trade laws to address the flow of infringing digital goods into the United States. According to supporters, the Wyden-Issa alternative would crack down on copyright violations without infringing upon free speech.
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