congress
WASHINGTON (AP) -- High-tech companies don't spend as much established business interests to lobby in Washington. But they forced congressional leaders to withdraw online piracy legislation by triggering an avalanche of clicks on the Internet.
Their campaign to kill the bills started with a few emails and online chats. By last week, it had snowballed. Wikipedia and thousands of other websites shut down for a day, other sites like Google urged users to email or phone Congress.
Protest coordinators say by the end, 7 million people signed a petition on Google alone and 3 million emails were sent to lawmakers.
This let them overcome a more traditional lobbying campaign by the entertainment industry to approve the bills that included TV and print ads and numerous visits to lawmakers.
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
powered by Disqus
Most Popular Stories
Crane accident cuts power to one-third of Vietnam
Goat on the lam snarls NJ's Pulaski Skyway traffic
Ferris wheel ride world record broken in Chicago
Star chef killed over meal
Obama to push for transparency in face of threats
Between economy and trouble, Obama approval steady
Tea party storm largely inside IRS - so far
House to vote on variable rate student loans
GOP questions IRS scrutiny of anti-abortion groups
WVLT VOLUNTEER TV
6450 Papermill Drive Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 450-8888 - Phone (865) 450-8869 - Fax
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability
User Agent: CCBot/2.0 - 137820033
