Do you agree with the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act?

ChannelWeb asked readers to cast their vote on the US government's anti-piracy plans

US government plans to push through the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a piece of anti-piracy legislation that was announced last October, appear to have stalled.

The act would deny US citizens access to overseas websites suspected of copyright offences and could result in sites being delisted from search engines.

The proposals have been widely condemned by software vendors and a number of high-profile websites which claim the proposals would stifle innovation, economic growth and free speech online.

As a result, the US House of Representatives confirmed last month that plans to press ahead with the legislation have been put on hold until a "wider agreement on a solution has been found".

So, with SOPA on ice for now, ChannelWeb asked visitors whether or not they supported the legislation.

The overwhelming response to that question was no, as 79 per cent of voters gave the plans a thumbs-down. In contrast, 15 per cent said they agreed with SOPA.

A further four per cent said they supported the bill, but thought its content needed tweaking. Another two per cent admitted to having no idea what SOPA is.