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Google and other technology companies spread “outright lies” about anti-piracy bills, according to Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford. The leader used his clout at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Ceremony to defend the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) as part of the DGA’s anti-piracy campaign. Film directors have a big stake and a big say in the battle over intellectual property online. The Oscar-winning Hackford maintains that content created by filmmakers is being stolen and given away on the Internet for free. The guild president has also emphasized that big studios, who also support SOPA and PIPA, are not suffering as much as independent filmmakers are from digital theft. Congress has put off another vote on the bills, which incited controversial protests and big muscle last month from websites such as Google and Wikipedia.

WEIGH IN:

How will Hackford’s and the DGA’s support of SOPA and PIPA help filmmakers and influence a public that apparently sided with Google? How much, if at all, will companies like Google influence the future of the film industry? And what is at stake for creators and the film-loving public?.

Guest:

Taylor Hackford, an Oscar-winning feature film and documentary director, writer and producer; he’s serving his second term as President of the Directors Guild of America