The Obama administration has responded to a petition against the SOPA and PIPA bills stating: “any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small.”

The White House issued its repose due to the We the People petition regarding SOPA and online piracy.

The official statement from the White House said it was important to “avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet,” while at the same time providing prosecutors and rights holders “new legal tools to combat online piracy” originating outside the US.

However, the Oval Office said it will not support any legislation which when implemented , reduced “freedom of expression, increase cybersecurity risk, or undermine the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”

The statement says the current administration will continue to work with “all sides” in order to “pass sound legislation” on the matter. It also asked for the public to suggest ideas on “how to clamp down on rogue websites” and other criminals “who make money off the creative efforts of American artists and rights holders.”

“We should all be committed to working with all interested constituencies to develop new legal tools to protect global intellectual property rights without jeopardizing the openness of the Internet. Our hope is that you will bring enthusiasm and know-how to this important challenge,” the statement continued.

You can read the full statement below, culled from the official White House blog.

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Earlier today, it was announced the DNS portion of the SOPA bill had been pulled, and the author of PIPA declared his bill needed more “study” before being put to a vote.

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