Publication Type: Media Release
Date: 10/26/2011CONTACT: Brian Dietz/Joy Sims 202-222-2350
The following statement, which can be attributed to NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell, is a response to the introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act (also known as the "Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act of 2011," or the E-PARASITE Act):
“We applaud House Judiciary Chairman Smith for his leadership and introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act, legislation that will help combat the harmful practices of online piracy and illegal content distribution. We support the efforts of Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Conyers to add new, reasonable tools that will protect copyrighted goods while balancing the obligations of organizations that conduct business on the Internet. The cable industry will continue to explore further steps to thwart digital theft and we look forward to working with the House Judiciary committee on this important legislation.”
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NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation’s largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access, serving 45 million customers, after investing more than $170 billion to build two-way interactive networks with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to 24 million American consumers.