The PROTECT IP Act Is Very Real and Very Bad — Call Now to Block It

The PROTECT IP Act Is Very Real and Very Bad — Call Now to Block It
The PROTECT IP Act Is Very Real and Very Bad — Call Now to Block It

The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) is the evil step-sister of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the much-criticized Internet blacklist bill introduced in the House last month. They’ve got a lot in common — both bills would allow the government and private rightsholders to censor the Internet for Americans, and both bills have faced strong opposition from regular citizens, business leaders, and public interest groups.

In one way, though, PIPA is much worse: while SOPA is still in the House committee stage and has been the target of extraordinary public opposition, PIPA is already out of committee and poised for consideration of the full Senate. That means PIPA is a few dangerous steps further along in the process of becoming law. And with only a few weeks to go in this legislative session, the Senate may try to rush the bill through before the public has a chance to respond.

We’re not going to let that happen. Despite their efforts to push this through under the radar, folks who care about the Internet and innovation are tracking this bill and getting the word out. You can help, in an old-school and very effective way: Pick up the phone.

Right now, the best response to this threat is to let your Senator hear your voice, explaining why you as a constituent think PIPA is such a bad idea. That’s why we’ve joined with many other public interest groups, including Public Knowledge, Fight for the Future, Demand Progress and others, in asking the public to call in to the Senate.

Even if you’ve already used our action alert (and thank you), please take a few minutes now and get on the phone with your Senator’s office. Let them know that Internet censorship is unacceptable.

Here are some talking points for you to mention during the phone call:

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent of the Senator.

I think S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, is a bad idea, and I hope the Senator will stand against it.

PROTECT IP is overbroad, and could be used as a tool for online censorship. Further, it creates a bad precedent internationally for fragmenting the Internet.

Thank you for your consideration, and for acting against this dangerous bill.

Find your state in the list below to get the phone numbers for your Senators. If your Senator has already spoken out against PIPA, his or her name will be in bold text. Please call to thank them for their position!

Big content is not going to give up on the idea that the best way to protect its slow-moving business model is to ensure that it gets to dictate the pace of innovation. Let’s send a signal that the next generation of creators and innovators will not let big content decide the future of the Internet.

If you dont live in the us, you can still call and say the same stuff!

Help us spread the word!

Once you’ve called your Senators, there are still more steps you can take to fight this disastrous bill. Tell your friends, in person, on Facebook, or on Twitter, and ask them to call their Senators. You can join over 100,000 Americans who have signed a Demand Progress petition — Senator Ron Wyden has promised to read from the list if he needs to filibuster the bill. And if you haven’t yet used our action alert, act now to e-mail your legislators with your opposition.
State Senator Phone Alabama Richard Shelby (202) 224-5744 Alabama Jeff Sessions (202) 224-4124 Alaska Lisa Murkowski (202) 224-6665 Alaska Mark Begich (202) 224-3004 Arizona John McCain (202) 224-2235 Arizona Jon Kyl (202) 224-4521 Arkansas Mark Pryor (202) 224-2353 Arkansas John Boozman (202) 224-4843 California Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841 California Barbara Boxer (202) 224-3553 Colorado Mark Udall (202) 224-5941 Colorado Michael Bennet (202) 224-5852 Connecticut Joe Lieberman (202) 224-4041 Connecticut Richard Blumenthal (202) 224-2823 Delaware Tom Carper (202) 224-2441 Delaware Chris Coons (202) 224-5042 Florida Bill Nelson (202) 224-5274 Florida Marco Rubio (202) 224-3041 Georgia Saxby Chambliss (202) 224-3521 Georgia Johnny Isakson (202) 224-3643 Hawaii Daniel Inouye (202) 224-3934 Hawaii Daniel Akaka (202) 224-6361 Idaho Mike Crapo (202) 224-6142 Idaho Jim Risch (202) 224-2752 Illinois Dick Durbin (202) 224-2152 Illinois Mark Kirk (202) 224-2854 Indiana Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814 Indiana Dan Coats (202) 224-5623 Iowa Chuck Grassley (202) 224-3744 Iowa Tom Harkin (202) 224-3254 Kansas Pat Roberts (202) 224-4774 Kansas Jerry Moran (202) 224-6521 Kentucky Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541 Kentucky Rand Paul (202) 224-4343 Louisiana Mary Landrieu (202) 224-5824 Louisiana David Vitter (202) 224-4623 Maine Olympia Snowe (202) 224-5344 Maine Susan Collins (202) 224-2523 Maryland Barbara Mikulski (202) 224-4654 Maryland Ben Cardin (202) 224-4524 Massachusetts John Kerry (202) 224-2742 Massachusetts Scott Brown (202) 224-4543 Michigan Carl Levin (202) 224-6221 Michigan Debbie Stabenow (202) 224-4822 Minnesota Amy Klobuchar (202) 224-3244 Minnesota Al Franken (202) 224-5641 Mississippi Thad Cochran (202) 224-5054 Mississippi Roger Wicker (202) 224-6253 Missouri Claire McCaskill (202) 224-6154 Missouri Roy Blunt (202) 224-5721 Montana Max Baucus (202) 224-2651 Montana Jon Tester (202) 224-2644 Nebraska Ben Nelson (202) 224-6551 Nebraska Mike Johanns (202) 224-4224 Nevada Harry Reid (202) 224-3542 Nevada Dean Heller (202) 224-6244 New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen (202) 224-2841 New Hampshire Kelly Ayotte (202) 224-3324 New Jersey Frank Lautenberg (202) 224-3224 New Jersey Bob Menendez (202) 224-4744 New Mexico Jeff Bingaman (202) 224-5521 New Mexico Tom Udall (202) 224-6621 New York Chuck Schumer (202) 224-6542 New York Kirsten Gillibrand (202) 224-4451 North Carolina Richard Burr (202) 224-3154 North Carolina Kay Hagan (202) 224-6342 North Dakota Kent Conrad (202) 224-2043 North Dakota John Hoeven (202) 224-2551 Ohio Sherrod Brown (202) 224-2315 Ohio Rob Portman (202) 224-3353 Oklahoma Jim Inhofe (202) 224-4721 Oklahoma Tom Coburn (202) 224-5754 Oregon Ron Wyden (202) 224-5244 Oregon Jeff Merkley (202) 224-3753 Pennsylvania Bob Casey, Jr. (202) 224-6324 Pennsylvania Pat Toomey (202) 224-4254 Rhode Island Jack Reed (202) 224-4642 Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse (202) 224-2921 South Carolina Lindsey Graham (202) 224-5972 South Carolina Jim DeMint (202) 224-6121 South Dakota Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842 South Dakota John Thune (202) 224-2321 Tennessee Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944 Tennessee Bob Corker (202) 224-3344 Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison (202) 224-5922 Texas John Cornyn (202) 224-2934 Utah Orrin Hatch (202) 224-5251 Utah Mike Lee (202) 224-5444 Vermont Patrick Leahy (202) 224-4242 Vermont Bernie Sanders (202) 224-5141 Virginia Jim Webb (202) 224-4024 Virginia Mark Warner (202) 224-2023 Washington Patty Murray (202) 224-2621 Washington Maria Cantwell (202) 224-3441 West Virginia Jay Rockefeller (202) 224-6472 West Virginia Joe Manchin (202) 224-3954 Wisconsin Herb Kohl (202) 224-5653 Wisconsin Ron Johnson (202) 224-5323 Wyoming Mike Enzi (202) 224-3424 Wyoming John Barrasso (202) 224-6441