Cong. Tim Johnson Opposes SOPA

Wednesday's Internet strike in opposition to Internet Piracy legislation led eight lawmakers --- including Illinois Senator Mark Kirk --- to drop their support of the measures.

But Congressman Tim Johnson (R-IL) said he didn't need a day without Wikipedia to reach the conclusion that SOPA (HR 3261), and its Senate version PIPA (S 968) would be bad for the country.

The Urbana lawmaker says he understands the threat of Internet Piracy, but believes the two bills would do more harm than good.

"I think it's vaguely worded," Johnson said. "I think it clearly has the potential to violate First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. I think it is oppressive with respect to individuals, and I think it is ill-considered. And I think it's something that clearly should be defeated in the Congress."

Supporters of SOPA, such as the Motion Picture Association of America, argue that it targets only foreign "rogue websites" that are dedicated to copyright infringement. They say such sites as YouTube and Facebook would not be affected, and would not be required to monitor their users. But Johnson remains skeptical.

"They're misportraying it," he said. "It's clear from the bill that it would have potential for tremendous abuse. This is a good example of big Hollywood money coming in and trying to buy the process. And it's simply not going to work."

Johnson said he doesn't think SOPA and PIPA bills can be revised to address his concerns. Instead, he said current laws are sufficient to protect intellectual property rights.

The two bills would give officials the power to require that Internet providers and search engines block websites suspected of copyright infringement. Critics say the measure would pose a threat to other websites, just for linking to sites that had links to copyright infringement.