Eric Schmidt argued that the law would set a 'disastrous precedent” for freedom of speech. | AP photo Google exec tees off on copyright bill

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Wednesday said the search company would fight legislation aimed at shutting down access to file-sharing websites that offer pirated content.

He argued that it would set a “disastrous precedent” for freedom of speech worldwide.


"If there is a law that requires DNSs [domain name systems] to do X, and it's passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president of the United States and we disagree with it, then we would still fight it," Schmidt told reporters at a London conference.

"If it's a request, the answer is we wouldn't do it. If it's a discussion, we wouldn't do it," Schmidt added.

Schmidt’s comments come days after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the PROTECT IP Act, which would allow the attorney general to seek a court order to shut down the domain name of an allegedly infringing site.

The bill is similar to a previous version Leahy introduced last session, known as COICA, but it includes a new provision that applies to search engines.

That provision in Leahy’s latest proposal would force search engines to cut off access to a site that offers illicit content if they’re served with a court order, putting companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft on the hook for taking action against infringing sites.

The bill would also make Google, which makes most of its profits from its online advertising products, stop serving ads or sponsored links to those sites.

The Guardian first reported Schmidt’s comments.

Schmidt said the act of blocking domain names was similar to China censoring its citizens’ Web searches, warning it could clamp down on free speech.

"I would be very, very careful if I were a government about arbitrarily [implementing] simple solutions to complex problems," Schmidt said.

"So, 'let's whack off the DNS.' OK, that seems like an appealing solution but it sets a very bad precedent,” Schmidt said, “because now another country will say 'I don't like free speech so I'll whack off all those DNSs.' That country would be China.”

Schmidt’s comments have already stoked the ire of the entertainment industry. The Recording Industry Association of America said Schmidt’s combative stance contradicts the more compromising tone that Google’s General Counsel Kent Walker struck with lawmakers at a hearing last month.

“This is baffling,” an RIAA spokesman told POLITICO. “As a legitimate company, Google has a responsibility to not benefit from criminal activity.”

The Motion Picture Association of America also lashed out against Schmidt’s comments.

“Is Eric Schmidt really suggesting that if Congress passes a law and President Obama signs it, Google wouldn’t follow it? As an American company respected around the world, it’s unfortunate that, at least according to its executive chairman’s comments, Google seems to think it’s above America’s laws,” said Michael O’Leary, an executive vice president for MPAA, in a statement.

“And the notion that China would use a bipartisan, narrowly tailored bill as a pretext for censorship is laughable, as Google knows, China does what China does,” O’Leary added.

However, a Google representative told POLITICO that the company is still working with Congress to ensure Leahy’s bill cracks down on online piracy and also protects free speech.

“Free expression is an issue we care deeply about and we continue to work with Congress to make sure the PROTECT IP Act will target sites dedicated to piracy while protecting free expression and legitimate sites,” the representative said.

Schmidt’s concerns about pending U.S. legislation stifling free speech rights echo similar statements made by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) about Leahy’s earlier COICA bill.

Wyden also warned last week that Leahy’s latest bill “would have serious ramifications for Internet speech.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 3:39 p.m. on May 18, 2011.