by pratyushkp

New legislation to combat online piracy has created outrage in the tech community. Google ChairmanEric Schmidt, as well as a slew of bloggers and large tech companies, have spoken out against the proposed bill.

The House’s Stop Online Piracy Act–as well as its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act–would give copyright owners broad new powers over their work.According to Reuters, the legislation would allow copyright holders and law enforcement officials “to cut off websites and require search engines, payment collectors and others to block access.”