Disney Refused PIPA Talks With Silicon Valley

Compromise is important when it comes to bills like SOPA. Film studios and media moguls don’t seem very interested though. The Walt Disney Co. was reported to have refused calls made by Sen. Dianne ...
Disney Refused PIPA Talks With Silicon Valley
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  • Compromise is important when it comes to bills like SOPA. Film studios and media moguls don’t seem very interested though.

    The Walt Disney Co. was reported to have refused calls made by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to join in a discussion on SOPA and PIPA with members of Silicon Valley. Sen. Feinstein was attempting to broker a truce between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, both powerful constituents in her state.

    The Huffington Post is reporting that the Senator called up both Hollywood and Silicon Valley to broker a compromise on PIPA and address concerns that the tech sector had with the bill.

    Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger declined the invitation on behalf of Hollywood. “Hollywood did not feel that a meeting with Silicon Valley would be productive at this time,” a spokesperson said.

    Unfortunately, the meeting took place with only tech companies present. Senate Democratic aides tell The Huffington Post that Sen. Feinstein is now working to amend PIPA.

    To make matters worse, there is no common ground between the two sectors when it comes to these bills. As the blackout yesterday confirmed, the tech sector is completely against the bills and want them dead. This echoes what a senior Senate aide told The Huffington Post when they said that the tech sector refuses to specify precise changes to PIPA so the bill would get killed outright.

    It seems that the only party that actually wants to change the bills are the senators and representatives working on PIPA and SOPA respectively. The content producers in Hollywood wants to push them through and the tech sector wants them to die. There is no compromise there and Washington is attempting to broker one. Doing so would allow them to stay on good terms with both Hollywood and the tech sector, both of which are powerful lobbying allies in Washington.

    It remains to be seen if there will be any compromise on these bills, but it’s not looking good. Considering how many members of Congress dropped their support yesterday during the blackout, it’s looking more like Silicon Valley is going to get its way.

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