Google chairman says online piracy bill would 'criminalize' the Internet

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would "criminalize linking and the fundamental structure of the Internet itself" and would punish Web firms, including search engines, that link to foreign websites dedicated to online piracy.

He said implementing the bill as written would effectively break the Internet. "By criminalizing links, what these bills do is they force you to take content off the Internet," Schmidt said, calling it a form of censorship. He compared the proposal to the Web censorship practiced by repressive foreign governments like China and doubled down on that comparison when speaking with reporters after his remarks at the Economic Club of Washington.

The Motion Picture Association of America accused Google's chairman of engaging in hyperbole. “Today, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt again engaged in sky is falling rhetoric in attacking important legislation that targets criminals who profit from online piracy and counterfeiting," said MPAA senior executive vice president for global policy and external affairs Michael O’Leary.