Why is Marco Rubio Supporting the Protect IP Act? **UPDATE**- Rubio Drops Support of Protect IP Act

by Lone Shark

The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and its House counterpart, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) have generated a huge backlash from the online community and numerous Internet businesses- over 7000 sites across the Internet have “gone black” to express their opposition to the legislation.

Unfortunately, both of Florida’s U.S. Senators- Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson are co-sponsors of PIPA.  Rubio has however expressed his opposition to the House’s SOPA legisation-

“I am opposed to SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).” – Marco Rubio

We oftentimes wonder here at the Shark Tank how it is that the so-called “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” (purportedly the U.S. Senate) more closely resembles a den of discredited group think and ill-conceived ideas.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is planning to quickly bring PIPA up for a vote on Jan. 24- but where’s the serious deliberation and debate on this bill?

Rubio’s good friend Senator Jim DeMint has a pitch-perfect message expressing his opposition to SOPA and PIPA that he posted on his Facebook wall-

I support intellectual property rights, but I oppose SOPA and PIPA because they are misguided bills that will cause more harm than good. The Internet is a shining example of a successful market. It is a showcase of vibrant innovation, competition, and individual empowerment, and Congress must take great care with any legislation that could affect its fundamental operations. In seeking to protect intellectual property rights, we must ensure that we do not undermine free speech, threaten economic growth, or impose burdensome regulations. – Jim DeMint

With so many popular Internet sites going dark today and opposition to this bill growing by the nanosecond, why would Rubio want to be caught dead anywhere near this legislation- especially with so many younger voters who are plugged in to this issue?

It wouldn’t surprise us if our campaigner-in-chief  Barack Obama were to “save the day” by posing as the champion of free speech on the Internet, oppose this legislation, and score himself a significant political victory right as the presidential campaign begins to heat up.

PIPA and SOPA address a legitimate problem- online piracy by rogue offshore websites- but the legislation as it’s currently written would have potentially disastrous  unintended consequences that would disrupt the Internet and free speech.   While we fully support protecting intellectual property rights,  the legislation as it’s presently written is way too broad and can potentially be applied in a way that goes well beyond simply protecting against piracy and copyright/trademark infringement.  PIPA and SOPA both need to be scrapped and rewritten to address these very legitimate concerns.

**UPDATE** Just hours ago, Senator Rubio released the following statement via Facebook:

A Better Way to Fight the Online Theft of American Ideas and Jobs
By Senator Marco Rubio

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 Internet piracy, 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 of 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 the Internet. 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 by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.