MPAA boss: we're cooking up a new SOPA behind the scenes

Former Senator Chris Dodd, head of the MPAA, has hinted to the Hollywood Reporter that he's already greasing the wheels for a new version of SOPA, though he's shy about revealing details because of the public outcry that might ensue. Dodd is the guy who went on the record to tell Obama that he would instruct his members to stop donating to the Democratic party because Obama didn't usher in the laws they wanted.

DemandProgress has whomped up a petition asking Obama to end the practice of writing American copyright laws in smoke-filled back rooms.

THR: Are there conversations going on now?

Dodd: I'm confident that's the case, but I'm not going to go into more detail because obviously if I do, it becomes counterproductive.

THR: Did you feel personally blindsided by Obama over SOPA?

Dodd: I'm not going to revisit the events of last winter. I'll only say to you that I'm confident he's using his good relationships in both communities to do exactly what you and I have been talking about.

This exchange comes days after the White House issued a report that urges a redoubling of efforts to crack down on piracy.

Hollywood and Obama should've learned: No form of censorship will be acceptable to Internet users, and we're fed up with corrupt, back-room deals that are driven by the rich and well-connected. Any major Internet policy changes should be negotiated in the light of day, so the millions of people who'd be affected can have their say too.

Please tell President Obama to reject Hollywood's backroom deals -- just add your name at right.

Chris Dodd Suggests Backroom Negotiations On New SOPA Are Well Underway

• [Bangorian]

  There is already a petition movement to stop this:

   http://a.fightforthefuture.org/sign/obama-sopa

• [niktemadur]

  Oh lordy, here we go again… and again… and again…  Screw Dodd every time he breathes.

  • [t3kna2007]

    SOPA, ACTA, Dodd: An Eternal Golden Shower.

  • [Cowicide]

    Dodd should seriously consider working for a living like the rest of us do.  What a bum.

• [DevinC]

  I’m just exhausted.  Every time we knock one of these damn things down, they roll out another one.  So here is my proposal for a private non-member’s bill:

  H.R. 1337, 112th Congress:

  1. That all nubs who know nothing of the net will STFU about it, and

  2. That the current laws dealing with piracy, child pornography, wire fraud, etc., already make these things illegal, and

  3. Seriously, leave the damn thing alone.

  • [Alex Mauer]

    Regarding 2, I generally agree…but couldn’t one make the same argument regarding wire fraud?  “It’s just fraud but OVER A WIRE [radio, etc.]” The current fraud law already makes these things illegal, no need to have a special “wire fraud” law.

  • [Jer_00]

     ”Every time we knock one of these damn things down, they roll out another one.”

    That’s pretty much how democracy works.  You’re never going to come up with an ultimate solution that stops people from trying to maximize their advantages.  Democracy is a form of government where struggle is the only constant – just to keep the status quo often requires a huge fight.

    • [EH]

      In this case, it could be stopped by enshrining freedom into law rather than leaving it vulnerable to private interests like the AA’s.

      • [Gideon Jones]

        Uh, how’s that do anything?  Or are you under the impression that laws cannot be changed once they’re enacted?

    • [DevinC]

      Yet people in democracies do seem to be able to eventually agree on things: we’ve all decided that slavery is wrong, for example, even though it may have seemed to be in many people’s interests at the time. 

       So long as this is a conflict of interests, you’re absolutely right: the struggle will go on pretty much indefinitely.  But there are also some important principles at stake here.  I don’t mean high-minded things like “we all have the right to freedom of speech”, but a principles like “the online world is part of the real world and doesn’t need online-specific laws when real-world-laws will do.”  

      What I am afraid of is exhaustion.  If this is seen as a grind of interests against interests, then the money will win.  I’m arguing that the fight against creeping regulation of the online world needs to be recognized by lawmakers as a problem that goes deeper than mere interests.

    • [Jim Saul]

      Every new generation has to learn this all over again. Most still don’t…

      Most just pick a team and count on the professionals to do the work…

      Most of the rest buy into the “they’re all the same” bullshit, which is really just deciding to let the worst possible scumbags win, because anything short of the Age of Aquarius requires effort.

      Ten percent do the work.  And half of those are actively hostile to your interests.

      It definitely is exhausting, but there’s no other choice, and there never, ever will be. Struggle on.

  • [ocatagon]

     This is their full time job, after all.

• [rawtape]

  Why don’t we simply take an AIPAC-ish attitude towards this? Basically, have the wrath of the net directed against the re-election campaign of any senator or congressperson who puts forward or supports such bills. Prevent a couple of such re-elections, and the RIAA/MPAA won’t find any stooges willing to risk their political career for them.

  • [Gideon Jones]

    Mostly because the net can’t stay organized for longer than a few weeks.

    • [rawtape]

      True, but would it really take that much organization? Target one or two individuals, have Google and similar companies drop a decent amount of change into the coffers of their opponents, and run a reminder at the right time so that we can toss in a little with Paypal…

      • [Jim Saul]

        Or support groups like the EFF.

      • [Gideon Jones]

        I don’t think you really understand how complicated and expensive congressional campaigns are.  

• [slapphappe]

  CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) H.R. 3523 (more at  http://slapphappe.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/sopa-and-pipa-and-now-cispa-enough-already/

• [Jim Mooney]

   Don’t trust Dodd for anything – the man with Negative credibility. Dodd was the rottenest bribed bum in the Senate – a scum of a man – and I’m a Democrat. He was majorly responsible for killing Glass-Steagall, a law that would have prevented the crash of 2008. But Dodd doesn’t care if he destroys the world economy for his bribes. He should be in prison. Doing anything the Dodd was is asking for a knife in the back. He won’t stop trying to push his sneaky suppression of the net no matter what. He doesn’t care about freedom, America, the economy or anything but his fat bribed pocket. He’s a bum.

  A friend in the entertainment industry told me entertainment execs are crookeder than boxing promoters. They cheat artists all the time(or connive them into bed), then cry the blues as they pocket stolen millions. They just want to control the net Any way they can. They’re itching to kill the freedom from their Lies that they enjoyed for so long. They want the slippery slope. Control one thing, then control another, and eventually the net will be just like TV, buy-everything lies, government spin, and garbage. You think you can trust them without Twitter revealing the truth? Pink Slime is the tip of the iceberg. They hate that. They want to be able to pull crap and keep it quiet.

  But Dodd will work with his other bribery boyz in Congress and slip something through. That’s why they hired him in a revolving-door job to influence the government. (That should be illegal but who’s gonna make it so – Crooked Congress – ha ha ha.)

• [AnomicOfficeDrone]

  And I never darkened the doorway of a movie theater again…

• [digi_owl]

  Feared as much. This is heading toward getting made law by virtue of attrition.

  • [Andrew Singleton]

    The first time we win by having people going ‘oh crap!’

    The sixth or seventh people stop showing up because it’s become a case of chicken little to them.

    All while real issues like the economy and healthcare are being ignored.

    I’m just gonna leave this here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvXo4sGB7zM

• [MrEricSir]

  Of course they will, that’s their job.  Thing is, it’s not congress’ job to bend over backwards and take whatever the industry is dishing out. Congress works for us, not them; and it’s our job to see that our representatives actually represent us.

• [⊂◉‿◉つ David]

  Dodd is a whore to Hollywood. Eff him and all of those rich lobbyist weasels that believe in SOPA.