Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressman John Sullinvan are against the SOPA/PIPA bills.
The bills aims to crack down on copyright infringement by restricting access to sites that fuel it. If SOPA passes, copyright holders would be able to complain to law enforcement officials and get websites shut down.
Opponents say that could lead to Americans losing access to thousands of sites across the web.
Senator Inhofe released this statement about his opposition to the bill:
"I share the concerns of America’s technology companies, industry leaders, and the many citizens who have voiced their concerns to my office. It is clear to me that this bill will inflict too heavy a burden on third-party non-infringing entities and could do serious harm to one of the last vestiges that is relatively free from government regulation, the Internet. When addressing intellectual property rights, Congress must be careful to also protect the freedom of speech and flow of information that the Internet provides. Additionally, I have concerns with creating yet another private right of action, which will be used by plaintiffs to stifle Internet innovation, and with requirements in the bill that could negatively impact the Internet’s reliability and performance.”
Congressman Sullivan posted his response to the bill on his Facebook page:
"I appreciate the thousands of comments, emails and phone calls today on SOPA. Like my constituents, I also have significant concerns that this legislation, as currently written, limits our First Amendment right to free speech on the Internet. I do believe Congress should address legislation to protect intellectual property rights, BUT must be mindful that the bills intended to protect honest American innovators are not doing more harm than good."
Websites Craigslist, Wikipedia, and Reddit went black on Wednesday to protest the bills. Google also used the homepage to show opposition to the bills.
