The Stop Online Piracy Act has officially been put on hold by US lawmakers, it was announced on Friday.
US reprentative Lamar Smith said that the House Judiciary Committee, which he heads, "will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution". Smith added that he has taken critics' concerns "seriously". "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," Smith said in the statement.
The decision to wave the white flag on SOPA came just hours after US Senate leaders announced they had postponed their vote on the Protect IP Act (PIPA), scheduled for Tuesday.
For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see SOPA halted in House on CNET News.
Get the latest technology news and analysis, blogs and reviews delivered directly to your inbox with ZDNet UK's newsletters.
