Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to delay a vote scheduled for Tuesday on the online anti-piracy bill.
From the BBC:
"In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the PROTECT IP Act," Mr Reid, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Reacting to Sen. Reid's decision, Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the Free Press Action Fund, made the following statement:
“The public has spoken in no uncertain terms. And the clear message to Washington is that you can’t let corporate lobbyists dictate Internet policy, you can’t tamper with the open architecture of the Internet, and you can’t craft any future legislation without giving the public a seat at the table.
The Hill reports that House Judiciary Committee Chairman and author of SOPA Lamar Smith has also decided to delay the House version of the bill.
"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy," Smith said. "It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products."
The decisions come two days after thousands of websites staged online strikes and actions in protest of the proposed bills.