The
Stop Online Piracy Act (
SOPA) was a controversial United States
bill introduced by
U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith (R-TX) to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online
copyright infringement and online trafficking in
counterfeit goods. Provisions included the requesting of court orders to bar
advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites, and
web search engines from linking to the websites, and court orders requiring
Internet service providers to block access to the websites. The proposed law would have expanded existing criminal laws to include unauthorized
streaming of copyrighted content, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.