Showdown vote on anti-piracy bill postponed

SENATE Democratic leader Harry Reid postponed a showdown vote in his chamber on the PIPA online anti-piracy bill that pits Hollywood against Silicon Valley.

Reid said there was no reason why concerns about the legislation cannot be resolved. He offered no new date for the vote, originally scheduled for next Tuesday.

Some senators who had co-sponsored the legislation dropped their support on Wednesday as protests blanketed the Internet, turning Wikipedia and other popular websites dark. Google, Facebook, Twitter and others protested the proposed legislation but did not shut down.

Reid’s action came a day after a senior Democratic aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the measure lacked the votes to clear a procedural hurdle and it was unclear if it could muster enough support.

The measure — known as the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) — is aimed at curbing access to overseas websites that traffic in pirated content and counterfeit products, such as movies and music.

Support for the Senate bill, and a similar one in the House known as SOPA, or Stop Online Piracy Act, has eroded due to fears that legitimate websites could end up in legal jeopardy.