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provisions, and in addition had jail terms set out for those who offered unauthorised streaming of infringing content. Both laws had the support of the copyright industry — the MPAA, RIAA, Entertainment Software Association, Viacom and other lobby groups or content owners backed the law change.

MPAA's new president, Chris Dodd, was the face of Hollywood's support for the bill. He was to become an important figure in all which followed. He was Hollywood's US$2.5 million-a-year voice in Washington DC, a place he was well familiar with after 30 years in the Senate. Dodd had also had a tilt at a presidential nomination in 2007, along with Biden, before stepping back and eventually retiring in 2010. When he did, Biden paid tribute, saying:

“Senator Dodd is one of my best friends in life. We served together in the Senate for almost 30 years, and to every meeting, every hearing, every floor debate, he brought a keen intellect and a deep understanding of the subject matter on every issue. I believe the nation will miss his wisdom, wit and compassion. I count myself lucky because I know he's not going too far and will always be source of advice and counsel.”

Dodd had pledged during political life not to seek work as a lobbyist and was criticised for taking the MPAA role. In the debate over PIPA and SOPA, he was one of the strongest voices in support of the legislation, urging Congress to support the proposed law. He said the impact on “international content theft” had no impact on free speech — one of the primary concerns — but it would protect an artist's ability to create by protecting the industry the artist worked in.

In opposition, Senator Ron Wyden was again hailed as the champion of the internet. He called the proposed laws “a step towards an Internet in which those with money and lawyers and access to power have a greater voice than those who don't”.

The most remarkable moment in the debate — the moment which signalled the possibilities for the future — came on 18 January 2012, the day the internet rebelled. More than 115,000 websites protested the legislation — Wikipedia and Reddit shut down for the day. Wikipedia showed users a page which carried the message: “Imagine a world without free knowledge.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation sent more than 1 million messages to Congress, while a petition at Google collected 4.5 million signatures. The New York Times called it the “political coming of age for the tech industry”. Senators one after another dropped support for the bill and switched sides as online

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