“After careful review of the proposed legislation and reflecting on the concerns expressed to me by Rhode Islanders, I have decided to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act as it is currently drafted. Although I am deeply concerned that online piracy is a serious issue confronting American businesses and intellectual property owners, as currently written, SOPA unduly burdens constitutional rights of freedom of speech and due process, poses significant threats to the Internet remaining open, safe and secure, and could stifle future innovation that would be counterproductive to future growth and development of our nation. I spoke to Congressman Berman, one of the cosponsors today, and understand that substantial revisions of the proposed bill are likely, and I will, of course, continue to pay close attention to any new versions of this bill."