VOA慢速英语:Websites Cut Service to Protest US Antipiracy Bills

Some popular websites have protested two proposed United States laws aimed at fighting illegal copying of writing, movies and other intellectual property on the Internet.  Wednesday, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, blacked out its English language website for twenty-four hours.
一些热门网站抗议美国两项旨在打击互联网上非法复制著作、电影和其它知识产权的提案。周三，维基百科，在线百科全书，关闭其英语语言网站24小时。

Jay Walsh is head of communications for the Wikimedia Foundation which operates Wikipedia.
Jay Walsh是维基百科运营商维基传媒基金会公关部门负责人。

JAY WALSH:  "It is detrimental to the free and open web.  It is detrimental to Wikipedia.  And we want to make sure that we send a message."
JAY WALSH：“这不利于互联网的自由和开放，这对维基百科是不利的。而我们想确保我们能表达自己的想法。”

The blogging site Boing Boing and Social news website Reddit also went black.
博客网站Boing Boing和社交新闻网站Reddit也变成了黑色。
 
Erik Martin is General Manager of Reddit.
Erik Martin是Reddit网站总经理。

ERIK MARTIN:  "This is a really big deal and this is something we're going to fight, and this is something we think threatens the entire tech sector."
ERIK MARTIN：“这是一个真正的大事件，这也是我们要争取的东西。我们认为这会威胁到整个高科技行业。”

Both Wikipedia and Reddit urged users to contact their Congressional representative to oppose the law.  Even Internet search leader Google protested, although it continued to provide service.
维基百科和Reddit都督促用户联系他们的国会代表反对这项法律。甚至包括互联网搜索巨头Google也提出抗议，尽管它继续提供服务。

The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act are known as SOPA and PIPA for short.  Supporters say they are a way to fight foreign websites that sell pirated copies of American movies and music.
《禁止网络盗版法案》和《知识产权保护法案》也被简称为SOPA法案和PIPA法案。支持者说，这是打击销售盗版美国电影和音乐的国外网站的一种方式。

Steven Tepp is a lawyer with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  He says piracy of books, music, movies and other forms of intellectual property hurt the economy and threaten jobs.
Steven Tepp是美国商会的律师。他说，盗版书籍、音乐、电影和其它形式知识产权伤害到美国经济，并威胁到美国的就业。

STEVEN TEPP: "These rogue sites are hurting American jobs, stealing American jobs, they're harming American consumers and they have no business being on the Internet."
STEVEN TEPP：“这些流氓网站正在伤害美国的就业机会，窃取美国的就业机会，损害美国消费者利益。他们在互联网上没有商业存在价值。”

But many online businesses like blogs, news sites and search engines say the laws force them to become censors.
但许多像博客、新闻网站和搜索引擎的之类的网络企业称，该法案将迫使他们成为审查员。

David Smith is with the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.  He says the proposed laws would hurt Wikipedia and other sites that depend on material provided by people who use the sites.  He says websites would be required to police all the material they carry.
David Smith在波托马克政策研究所工作。他称该提案会伤害到维基百科和其它依赖于用户提供内容的网站。他说，网站会被要求对所有其刊登的材料进行审核。

DAVID SMITH:  "It creates a legal situation in which a complainant can go before a judge and get an order, and it then makes the various Internet companies, the Internet service providers, responsible for what they're carrying.  And, this is where the rub (problem) comes, because it basically turns the Internet service provider into a monitor."
DAVID SMITH：“它导致了这样一种法律情况，投诉人可以去找法官获得指令，让各类作为互联网服务提供商的互联网公司对他们刊登的材料负责。而这就是问题所在，因为这会让互联网服务提供商变成监控人员。”

The House and Senate are expected to work on the bills in the coming weeks.  But after the online protests, some lawmakers have already said they have doubts about the bill.  Republican Senator Marco Rubio urged lawmakers to take more time to consider the concerns of both supporters and opponents of the bills.
众议院和参议院预计在未来几周处理该法案。但是，在网上抗议活动之后，一些国会议员已经表示，他们对这项法案心存疑虑。共和党参议员Marco Rubio敦促国会议员花费更多时间考虑该法案支持者和反对者的忧虑。

Obama administration spokesman John Carney said the president opposes any law that hurts freedom of expression or security.
奥巴马政府发言人John Carney称，总统反对任何伤害言论自由和安全的法案。

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner admitted there is now a lack of agreement among lawmakers on the bills.
本周三，众议院议长John Boehner承认，目前国会议员在该法案上缺乏共识。