Rep Issa pushes alternative anti-piracy bill

Capitalizing on the publicity surrounding an unprecedented Web protest of two controversial anti-piracy bills, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced his alternative legislation, which is much friendlier to tech companies.

Issa's Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) has eight Republican and 16 Democratic co-sponsors. Issa's alternative bill would empower the U.S. International Trade Commission, rather than the Justice Department, to go after the foreign infringing websites. The bill focuses only on a "follow the money" approach, requiring ad networks and payment processors to cut off business with the sites, instead of requiring other sites to delete links. The bill also does not include a private action for copyright holders to target sites pirating their material.