Remember SOPA? PIPA? Maybe even CISPA? Of course you do — the Internet community, Consumerist included, rallied en masse earlier this year to stop those attempts to regulate the Interwebs we love so dearly. Now a Congressman is lobbing up a proposal to prevent that from happening again for at least two years with a bill that would temporarily ban the government from trying to regulate the Internet.

 

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, issued a draft of his bill called the “Internet Moratorium Act 2012” to Project Madison this week (via CNET). Users of that site can read and amend bills online and add their own suggestions or criticisms.

At first look, the bill looks pretty straightforward and like something those opposed to SOPA/PIPA/CISPA would like, as it quite simply halts any “new laws, rules or regulations governing the Internet” for a period of two years.

Great, no more bad guys trying to turn off our Internet rights, right? Not so fast, as critics point out — that would mean any good regulations would get the kibosh as well. What’s to stop an evil company from infringing on your rights as an Internet user if there’s no new laws keeping them in line? Double-edged sword, and all of that.

Perhaps the government shouldn’t be the one stepping in, but after battling those other Internet intellectual property acts, maybe we could use a break.

Weigh in, eh?

The Internet American Moratorium Act (IAMA) [Project Madison]
Congressman proposes two-year ban on Net regulation bills [CNET]

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