House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said late Friday that the Stop Online Protection Act (SOPA) markup, which was adjourned for floor votes Friday, would resume Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Some bill opponents had hailed the adjournment Friday as a partial victory and a sign the committee was done with the issue until the new year and new Congress, but that was not the case.
One of those was Public Knowledge. "Continuing a markup on Dec. 21, when many members may well be absent, demonstrates a clear desire to continue dodging the questions raised by experts, members, and the public," said Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director of Public Knowledge, in a statement. "This unwillingness to take expert evidence, listen to constituents, or conduct due diligence in investigating the extraordinary harms risked by SOPA shows a process divorced from representation, responsibility, and reality."
