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In an interview with Variety, Chris Dodd said the fears of Google and other internet companies about a major anti-piracy bill now moving through Congress are "exaggerated hyperbole." While even one of the original developers of the internet says the Stop Online Piracy Act could interfere with the functioning of the web and open the door to radical new forms of censorship, Dodd says to look to China.

Dodd, who assumed his post in March, notes that the idea of blocking sites is by no means unprecedented. Other supporters of the legislation note Internet providers already block criminal content like child pornography. Citing a more controversial practice, Dodd notes "When the Chinese told Google that they had to block sites or they couldn't do [business] in their country, they managed to figure out how to block sites." He suggests that companies opposing the legislation may view it differently if they were confronted with the rampant piracy facing Hollywood. Google "recently bought Motorola, with 700 patents," Dodd says. "If you can find patents on the Internet, maybe you ought to be able to steal it. Copyright is a limited right, patent is an unlimited right. But maybe people ought to have access to those patents. Maybe that ought to happen."

(When you're a senator, you have staff to remind you not to make comparisons like that one. Maybe someone at MPAA should embrace that duty?)

Dodd's comments seem unlikely to shake the resolve of those who think SOPA is a dangerously broad piece of legislation. The bill would attempt to thwart the trafficking of online contraband, like pirated movies and unauthorized sales of weapons and other technology, by blocking U.S. internet users from domain names deemed invalid.