Tech group says lawmakers catering to Hollywood

Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, accused members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees of kowtowing to the interests of movie studios and record labels.

"The members of the Judiciary Committee deal with life and death issues: abortion, capital punishment. They don't deal with monied issues," Shapiro explained. "So they get a phenomenal amount of money from the content industry lobbyists." Shapiro made the comments while discussing the Senate's Protect IP Act and the House's Stop Online Piracy Act. Both bills would provide law enforcement and copyright holders with expanded powers to shutdown websites dedicated to copyright infringement. The Protect IP Act cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in May and the Stop Online Piracy Act is awaiting a vote in the House Judiciary Committee. Movie studios, record companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly support the measures.

A spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America said her organization has sway because it makes a strong case for copyright enforcement. "I don’t think anyone can disagree that business for CEA members has been booming and they have made their presence felt in Washington. If the case we make is at all persuasive, it’s because we have a compelling story of $7 billion in lost revenues and 15,000 layoffs, primarily due to rogue websites," she said. The Motion Picture Association of America also pushed back against Shapiro's comments. "The fact of the matter is that Mr. Shapiro has chosen to go all negative all the time on the issue of content theft," Howard Gantman, a spokesman for the MPAA, said. "That does not lead to positive discussions or legislative solutions."