Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren Asks Reddit To Help Draft Copyright Bill
Representative Zoe Lofgren (D – California) is in the processes of drafting a new bill to reform copyright legislation, and she’s asking the internet to help. Specifically, Representative Lofgren is reaching out to the Reddit community for suggestions and guidance on the bill. The idea, she says, is to draft legislation designed to protect against fallacious domain seizures from copyright claims.
Reddit has a longstanding reputation of being very vocal and active when it comes to rights online. Most recently, the social media site gained huge recognition for its instrumental efforts to fight off SOPA and CISPA legislation. The effects caught the eyes of many lawmakers, including Lofgren. Lofgren even sported a “STOP SOPA!” banner as her Facebook profile picture during the SOPA deliberations.
Representative Lofgren says on her website:
“During SOPA I saw firsthand the Reddit community’s strong dedication to free expression. Because of that dedication, I thought I would attempt an experiment: crowdsourcing a legislative proposal on Reddit. The goal of the legislation would be to build due process requirements into domain name seizures for copyright infringement. I’d like your thoughts on the proposal.”
In addition to her formal statement on her website, she also began a post on the Politics subreddit. The post has garnered a moderate response (about 110 upvotes and 34 comments at the time of this writing) and it’s unclear how Lofgren would like to be contacted. Many Reddit users are replying directly to the posts, and her website lists a contact link.
This is not the first time that politicians have reached out to Reddit for help. President Obama has famously taken part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) and Representative Darrel Issa (R – California) has done numerous AMAs himself.
It’s good to see politicians embracing the internet. The first step to creating better laws around copyright and privacy is to understand how the internet works.