The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
A total of 103,785 people signed We the People petitions asking the Obama Administration to protect an open and innovative internet
A total of 103,785 people signed We the People petitions asking the Obama Administration to protect an open and innovative internet. A petition asking President Obama to veto the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) got 51,689 signatures, while 52,096 people signed the “Stop the E-PARSITE Act” petition.
Congress is debating a number of bills, including these two, that deal with the issue of online piracy. Today, several web sites joined together in a virtual strike against SOPA and other piracy legislation by shutting down or going dark.
Over the weekend, the White House responded to the petitions explaining that while online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, attempts to combat it must not reduce freedom of expression, increase cybersecurity risk, or undermine the dynamic, innovative global Internet:
Moving forward, we will continue to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis on legislation that provides new tools needed in the global fight against piracy and counterfeiting, while vigorously defending an open Internet based on the values of free expression, privacy, security and innovation.
Read the full petition response here, or learn more about We the People, a new platform that allows people to create and sign petitions calling for the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our nation.
