FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2011 CONTACT: Sheri Hansen, Press Secretary press@aden4arkansas.

com (479) 253-7141

Statement On Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261)

The following is the statement of Democratic Congressional Candidate Ken Aden (D-Russellville) on the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261): Neither SOPA nor the PROTECT IP Act (S. 968) address the real problems related to copyright and trademark infringement online and neither will work well from a technological standpoint. TechDirt.com founder Mike Masnick put it best last month when he noted that "the approach put forth by these bills is a joke." In addition to essentially creating framework for government-sanctioned censorship via DNS blocking similar to the Chinese government's Golden Shield Project, this legislation will have a disastrous impact on the continually growing tech sector of the U.S. economy. The broad definitions in the legislation have the potential to create significant liability for nearly every site online, and the uncertainty surrounding how the legislation could be enforced will have significant effects on job growth in the tech sector. From changing what is considered a felonious violation of copyright law to allowing judges to determine the best network architecture, to broadly expanding secondary liability, this legislation is a potential disaster for the tech sector and the American people. Rather than creating an environment to help new innovators create platforms which would actually expand the reach of movies, music, and other forms of entertainment, Lamar Smith, SOPA's author, has simply created legislation that gives lobby groups like the Motion Picture Association of America and the recording Industry Association of America the keys to the proverbial candy store when it comes to protecting their own pocketbooks. That's no surprise since the television, film, and music industry have given him more money in the last cycle than any other contributors. We need real solutions to allow for the protection of intellectual property that don't put a potential wet blanket on the concept of "fair use," don't result in censorship, and will not stifle technological innovation in this country.

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PAID FOR BY KENNETH WADE ADEN 4 ARKANSAS COMMITTEE