Amid online protests that include major websites like Wikipedia blacking out their sites, a few co-sponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act in Congress are defecting.
Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), originally a co-sponsor of the bill, pulled his name from the list of sponsors on Tuesday.
Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) also has plans to remove his name as a co-sponsor Wednesday. A spokesman for Terry told the Omaha World-Herald that Terry concluded SOPA as written isn't the solution after civil liberties groups and tech companies rose up against the bill.
Some members of Congress will also join the blackout protest unfolding across the Web. Freshman Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), who represents the libertarian wing of the GOP, changed his Facebook profile photo to a logo of the words SOPA and PIPA crossed out and he also disabled his Facebook wall so people cannot post content to it.
"These bills give the federal government unprecedented power to censor Internet content and will stifle the free flow of information and ideas," Amash wrote in a post on his profile. "Demand that Congress and the president keep the Internet open and free."
This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 7:52 a.m. on January 18, 2012.
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