Senate seeks to fast-track antipiracy bill

Campaigners are fighting to stop legislation that would enable the government to shut down websites accused of illegal file-sharing.

A US Senate committee stunned the technology sector by announcing it would try to fast-track a bill designed to grant the US Department of Justice wide authority to combat illegal file-sharing and counterfeiting. The bill could go to a vote in the Senate as early as Thursday.

"Legislation like this goes through, we start to break the internet," said Ed Black, chief executive of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). "Nobody is arguing that copyright infringement doesn't exist. But Lady Gaga isn't going to go broke tomorrow. We should be trying to solve the copyright issue in as an unobtrusive and thoughtful way as possible and not creating anti-First Amendment laws."

For more of this story, read Fight for Senate antipiracy bill rages on CNET News.