Federal judge orders Mississippi to stop online piracy investigation

A federal judge has ordered the Mississippi State Attorney General's Office to suspend its investigation into whether Google facilitates online piracy—a legal probe that reportedly was prompted by lobbying from the Motion Picture Association of America.

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a preliminary injunction Monday against Attorney General Jim Hood's subpoena of Google, although the judge said he had yet to make a final decision about whether the investigation could move forward. Google sued Hood's office in December, claiming that the investigation came about due to lobbying by MPAA and its six member studios, according to Variety. The lobbying effort was exposed in emails obtained from last year's Sony Pictures hack.

"We're pleased with the court's ruling, which recognizes that the MPAA's long-running campaign to censor the Web—which started with (the Stop Online Piracy Act)—is contrary to federal law," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, said in a statement. http://bit.ly/18i8vyp

The Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, was a bill in Congress that was quickly killed in 2012 after thousands of websites went black for a day in protest of the legislation.

MPAA did not issue any statements on Monday's injunction. However, Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro, who has often clashed with the film association in the past, said his group was pleased with the judge's decision.

"Attorney General Hood should cease his attacks on one of the most robust and innovative growth sectors of the U.S. economy," Shapiro said. "We urge the MPAA to stop facilitating government actions which chill speech, and, instead, embrace the Internet as a transformative and beneficial distribution vehicle for artists and studios."http://bit.ly/18i8Pgm