Senate piracy bill changed after criticism by ISPs, engineers, public advocates

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced changes to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act after an uproar by Silicon Valley engineers, Internet service providers and public interest groups that the legislation would lead to censorship.

Proposed amendments include:

• The Justice Department would not longer be required to publish the domain names of sites that counterfeit products and violate copyright laws.
• Internet service providers wouldn't be required to modify network or facilities to comply with an order to look up domain names and shut them down.
• Internet service providers would be given some breathing room on domain name takedowns with new language that requires them to "act as expeditiously as reasonable," according to a summary of the amendment.
• The new bill would provide more protection from legal liability for third-party registrars and ISPs. The previous version of the bill held them explicitly liable for allowing pirated material on their networks or to be registered.
• The amendment requires the Attorney General to work with law enforcement on a process that allows agencies to coordinate on investigations.