Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is doing whatever it takes to defeat Senate and House legislation that expands the governments' ability to shutter and disrupt websites "dedicated" to infringing activities – including now contemplating a substitute solution.

'You can strike a balance here between people who are concerned about copyright infringement and those who are concerned about the architecture of the internet'Wyden originally put a hold on the Protect IP Act, which is similar to the House's Stop Online Piracy Act. Among other things, they grant rights holders the unfettered power to effectively kill websites they believe are dedicated to infringing activities – all in a bid to combat piracy. Opponents, which include some of the web's heavy hitters, say the remedy is overkill and that requiring ISPs and search engines to prevent users from visiting blacklisted sites is akin to China's censorship methods.

Wyden, in addition to a promised filibuster, said Thursday he has gathered a few lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum to initiate what he said was a "discussion" on an alternate method: getting the congressional-created International Trade Commission more involved in the illegal, digital distribution of counterfeit and copyright goods.

"You can strike a balance here between people who are concerned about copyright infringement and those who are concerned about the architecture of the internet," Wyden said in a telephone interview.

The "discussion paper" he forwarded to Wired says, "This proposal updates import laws to respond to the challenges posed by the digital economy, so that illegal digital imports and digitally-facilitated imports of counterfeit goods are deterred. This proposal would enable a U.S. rights holder to petition the International Trade Commission (ITC) to launch an investigation into the imports in question."

Continue reading 'Senator Floats Alternative to Internet Blacklisting Bills' ...

The 745-word "discussion draft" (.pdf) is short on details, and Wyden said he understands that the ITC already addresses intellectual-property theft.

"My top priority is to keep PIPA from going to the floor of the United States Senate," he said in the interview. "Right now, the International Trade Commission has authority over hard goods. We'd like digital-good imports addressed."

We're not sure whether the discussion draft will fly with Congress or even the Obama administration, which on Tuesday urged fellow Americans to snitch on their neighbors if they suspect they are committing intellectual-property theft.

But anything that deters lawmakers from adopting PIPA and SOPA this year is good news, however short-lived it may be.

The measures Wyden are seeking to block also allow the government to order sites removed from search engines and the House version allows copyright holders to coerce advertisers into severing ties with sites that copyright holders unilaterally decide are infringing. If that had existed five years ago, it's unlikely that YouTube or Tumblr, among other sites, would have survived.

What's more, the measures allow the Justice Department to obtain court orders demanding American ISPs blacklist websites by not rendering the sites via an alteration of the DNS naming system.

Photo: pirateyjoe/Flickr