Senator Rubio Issues Statement on Internet Censorship Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - The widespread blackout and protests of thousands of websites seems to have influenced members of congress. Including PIPA co-sponsor, Florida Senator, Marco Rubio who pulled his name from the bill. Rubio communicated his withdrawal via a Facebook post, titled “A Better Way to Fight the Online Theft of American Ideas and Jobs,” in which he argues congress should avoid rushing to pass the bill that could have unintended consequences.

Statement from Senator Marco Rubio's office:

In recent weeks, we've heard from many Floridians about the anti-Internet piracy bills making their way through Congress. On the Senate side, I have been a co-sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act because I believe it's important to protect American ingenuity, ideas and jobs from being stolen through Internetpiracy, much of it occurring overseas through rogue websites in China. As a senator from Florida, a state with a large presence of artists, creators and businesses connected to the creation o intellectual property, I have a strong interest in stopping online piracy that costs Florida jobs.

However, we must do this while simultaneously promoting an open, dynamic Internet environment that is ripe for innovation and promotes new technologies.

Earlier this year, this bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and without controversy. Since then, we've heard legitimate concerns about the impact the bill could have on access to the Internet and about a potentially unreasonable expansion of the federal government's power to impact theInternet. Congress should listen and avoid rushing through a bill that could have many unintended consequences.

Therefore, I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised byall sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.