Rep. Darrell Issa introduces bill on Reddit that would prevent new internet laws for 2 years

Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) is proposing a big legislative time-out in the form of a moratorium on new Internet regulations for the next two years.

It's certainly a bizarre move considering that Congress typically doesn't vote away its ability to do its job, but it's a defensive tactic that could resonate with an Internet audience that expressed concern about having to play whack-a-mole with bad internet laws following SOPA. The bill, named The Internet American Moratorium Act (IAMA), is currently just a "discussion draft" — which means that it's got a long way to go before even being considered for a vote by Congress. The bill's provisions are extremely broad, and would pretty much put a stop to all internet lawmaking.

A blanket ban on Internet legislation probably isn't a good thing, even if it gives Congress a little more time to educate itself on internet issues: the law would require both Congress and federal agencies, like the Federal Communications Commission, to put a halt on Internet regulation. That would mean the FCC's critically received Open Internet regulations would have to sit still for another two years (which might not be a problem for Republicans, like Rep Issa, who oppose network neutrality). It would also mean that the government would be unable to make new demands of companies like Facebook and Google to ensure the privacy of their customers through new regulations.