Facebook, Google join to fight Internet piracy legislation

Facebook, Google and other Silicon Valley Internet giants put aside their competitive battles and jointly warned federal lawmakers against anti-piracy legislation they fear could place too much responsibility on firms like them. A House legislative proposal has drawn fresh attention from Internet firms and venture capital investors who are at odds with Hollywood and record labels advocating for stronger laws. Silicon Valley giants Twitter, Yahoo and LinkedIn also signed onto the letter that asks leaders of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to be more specific in any new rules to ensure online firms aren’t liable for pirated material that may appear on their sites. A similar bill by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) passed the Senate in September. Online giants say they support efforts to fight against illegal exchange of copyrighted material on the Internet. But they said in their letter the House Stop Online Piracy Act proposal would “expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action, and technology mandates that would require monitoring web sites.” Specifically, they say language is too vague in the House bill and that it could make online sites like theirs responsible for pirated content. They say a safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 protects them from legal action as long as they show good faith to remove infringing content from their site.