California Senator Barbara Boxer has become the latest member of Congress to come out in support of the Senate’s anti-piracy bill, Protect IP Act.
The Marin County-based Boxer in recent days added her name to a list of 39 senators, including Sen. Diane Feinstein, who are co-supporting the controversial bill proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Boxer’s spokesman Zachary Coile said Monday evening: “Senator Boxer supports the Protect IP Act. She has a long record of working to protect intellectual property and fight piracy.”
A similar measure is making its way through the House of Representatives and is before the Judiciary Committee.
The anti-piracy measures are strongly opposed by Internet-connected companies, arguing that the regulations amount to censorship. Members of the entertainment industry, however, say online piracy is robbing Hollywood of its creative property, resulting in job losses. One supporter recently gave this example: The movie J. Edgar was released in theaters on a Friday evening. By Saturday, there were already full pirated versions on pay-per-view on Internet sites based in China.
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Other co-sponsors of the Protect IP Act include a number of regulars on the Hollywood fundraising circuit, among them Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
