The group NetCoalition, representing internet and tech companies, held a news conference to discuss what they think are the potential dangers of anti-online piracy bills Congress is considering.
NetCoalition Executive Director Markham Erickson will be joined by representatives from the Consumer Electronics Association, TechDirt, the Future of Music Coalition, and ServInt, all of whom are publicly against SOPA and PIPA.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a House bill introduced last October, and is intended to protect intellectual property on the internet. The Protect IP Act (PIPA) is SOPA's Senate-equivalent.
Opponents fear that many of the bills' provisions would change the way websites like Facebook and Google operate, placing too much of a burden on technology companies to provide oversight or risk being blocked by Internet service providers
This news conference comes on the heels of Wednesday's unusual Internet protest, when popular companies such as Reddit and Wikipedia completely shut down access to their sites, redirecting users to ways to contact their representatives. Google did not block their content, but did change their homepage logo and linked it to a description of the issue and a way to contact Congress.