Chairman Leahy Calls On Critics To Offer Legislation Instead Of 'Talking Points'

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urged critics of his bill targeting foreign websites that offer pirated content or counterfeit products to propose legislative language on alternative ways to address the problem.

"I'd love to see some legislation and not just some talking points," Chairman Leahy said when asked about a draft proposal released last week by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who oppose his bill. The Protect IP Act, which Leahy authored, was approved by the Judiciary Committee in May but has been blocked from moving to the Senate floor by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). Sen Wyden and other critics, including tech companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, argue that Leahy's bill and a similar measure introduced in the House known as the Stop Online Piracy Act would stifle innovation and free speech and could undermine the integrity of the Internet's domain name system.