Yesterday’s ‘SOPA blackout’ was cause enough to close the curtains on major websites like Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing for extended periods of time — up to 24 hours in some cases. Google, craigslist, Mozilla and many others leveraged their reach to inform the masses of congress’ radical plans to legislate, control and censor the global Internet in name of piracy.

But the heightened awareness – or lack thereof – failed to reach Minnesota’s own Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar who are co-sponsoring SOPA’s sister bill, PIPA. Though SOPA has been halted in the House (for now), PIPA is still alive and has the ability to inflict a crippling blow to Minnesota’s startup community if passed on January 24th.

Over 50 prominent tech investors have declared that “PIPA will ultimately put American innovators and investors at a clear disadvantage in the global economy,” while innumerable entrepreneurs from around the world have spoken up in regards to what they see as a threat.

Following Wednesday’s protests, key senators who once supported PIPA have backtracked, including those from Missouri, Florida, Utah, Arkansas and Maryland.  An increasing number from both the House and the Senate are now openly vocal against PIPA and SOPA.  Much of this opposition is coming from states with a less vibrant entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem than Minnesota’s; in other words, they even have less to lose in the event that PIPA or SOPA become codified into law.

Amongst those political opponents is Minnesota’s own Rep. Keith Ellison who outwardly participated in yesterday’s blackout to show his solidarity in the fight to block SOPA and PIPA from advancing.

“The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act would devastate free speech, Internet innovation, and job creation,” said Rep. Ellison.

In a statement to TECHdotMN, Franken spokesperson Ed Shelleby said, “Sen. Franken has heard the concerns that many Minnesotans have voiced over the past few days about the PROTECT IP Act, and he believes we need to reach a compromise that will both keep the Internet free and open and protect American jobs.”

Yet Franken still remains a co-sponsor of the legislation in current form.

Klobuchar, on the other hand, has not returned numerous requests for information over the past few days, and remains supportive until otherwise indicated. Senator Klobuchar provided this quote after publishing:

“This morning Senator Reid called off the vote because we need a better balance in any legislation that we consider. I will continue to work to address concerns that have been raised going forward.”

Minnesota’s two politically engaged tech organizations — the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) and MOJO Minnesota (a co-op created to “fuel entrepreneurship and innovation in MN”) have not commented specifically on Franken & Klobuchar’s cosponsoring of PIPA, but did generally note:

“MOJO is against this legislation.  While we support intellectual property rights, SOPA/PIPA would impinge on basic functions of the internet and websites.   That some people misuse content does not justify the harsh penalties these proposed laws would impose.  There are adequate means under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to alert a website owner of infringing content.  So we hope the proposed laws are not enacted,” said Ernest Grumbles on behalf of MOJO.

“Although I know a few of our members have articulated specific positions on SOPA and PIPA, it’s not something we have weighed in on as MHTA. Our involvement in federal affairs is usually coordinated through TechAmerica, the leading technology trade association.  MHTA happens to be the local office for TechAmerica…here are some links to their recent comments on the legislation,” said Communications Director Andrew Wittenborg.

Senator Al Franken: MN office: (651) 221-1016; DC office: (202) 224-5641; email

Senator Amy Klobuchar: MN office: 1-888-224-9043; DC office: 202-224-3244; email

Guest author Camella Mendez is a content strategist at Internet Exposure, a Minneapolis digital agency that specializes in a web design and development.

Today, Rep. Keith Ellison’s campaign website, keithellison.org, went black in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP ACT (PIPA).

“The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act would devastate free speech, Internet innovation, and job creation,” said Rep. Ellison. “I strongly oppose these bills and believe there are better ways to fight piracy without infringing upon Americans’ right to free speech.”

“The Minnesota Science & Technology Authority (MnSTA) has awarded a $129,000 grant to the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) to administer internships for 40 college students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines under a new program called SciTechsperience.

“The Minnesota High Tech Association’s experience in working with science and technology initiatives makes it a wonderful partner to implement SciTechsperience,” said Betsy Lulfs, executive director of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority. “We are excited to be working with them on this new opportunity to retain Minnesota’s young talent.”

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“State lawmakers are considering a bill to require all Internet retailers to pay sales tax in Minnesota.  Members of the Senate Taxes Committee heard testimony from supporters and opponents of the measure Wednesday.

Several companies, including Best Buy, argue the tax is needed for a level playing field.  Ward Einess, who represents Best Buy, says his company wants internet retailers to meet the same standard that his company meets.”

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“Since winning election to the US Senate in 2008, Al Franken (D-MN) has become one of that chamber’s top net neutrality defenders. With the House uninterested in compromise on the issue, the real push to gut the FCC’s existing net neutrality order will take place this year in the Senate.

Last week, Franken and three other senators drafted a letter in which they blasted the House for trying to “defund” the FCC’s net neutrality enforcement. House Republicans “claim to stand for freedom,” the letter says. “But the only freedom they are providing for is the freedom of telephone and cable companies to determine the future of the Internet, where you can go on it, what you can attach to it, and which services will win or lose on it.”

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“U.S. Sen. Al Franken gets a plum new post: He was named today as the chair of the newly created Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.  It’s part of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Chairman Patrick Leahy announced the subcommittee and named Franken its head.

The subcommittee mandate includes “laws and policies governing the collection, protection, use, and dissemination of commercial information by the private sector, including online behavioral advertising; privacy within social networking websites and other online privacy issues.”"

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“Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Scott Brown (R-MA) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would help revitalize America’s innovative edge and ability to compete in the global economy. The Innovate America Act would cut red tape to help businesses utilize research and development for new products, target successful education programs, and promote U.S. exports in new markets to strengthen America’s ability to innovate and compete in the global economy.”

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1) Accelerate Minnesota’s ability to turn new discoveries and technologies into commercial products and services.

2) Foster the start-up and success of new high-growth companies in the state.

3) Enhance the ability for our existing industries to remain competitive and be leaders in their market.

After six months of research and analysis, the authority publicly released this week a detailed 31 page report turned “strategic roadmap for getting back on our entrepreneurial feet and building competitive companies throughout the state.”  If you or someone you know has a vested interest in the future of Minnesota’s high tech ecosystem, this required reading will shape our high tech economy for years to come.

From the intro:

“Minnesota, like other states across the country, is facing a prolonged period of high unemployment and budget deficits. Now more than ever, there is a critical need to make strategic investments in efforts that will accelerate job growth, and at the same time, set a foundation for sustained prosperity.

One of the most widely accepted economic development tenets in today’s economy is that a region cannot sustain quality jobs and prosperity unless it continually innovates and finds new ways to be competitive. This requires an active entrepreneurial environment where startup and existing companies are encouraged and supported in seeking to develop new products and enter emerging markets.”

Couldn’t agree more with the premise; read the report and draw your own conclusions.

Last week the Blandin Foundation held their annual broadband conference Broadband 2010: Cultivating a Culture of Use.

The 130 attendees included partners in Blandin’s ARRA-funded broadband adoption project (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities), other ARRA fund recipients, service providers, policy-makers and community leaders. I was struck by the caliber of questions attendees asked. When it comes to broadband, we’re no longer asking: what it is or who’s going to do it; we’re asking: how to deploy and encourage broadband adoption.

In an email conversation with Jim Baller, he noted that he has noticed the same shift on a national basis. Events and projects such as the National Broadband Plan, ARRA broadband funding, Google’s Gig network and locally the Minnesota High-Speed Task Force Recommendations, recent visits from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and FCC Public Hearing have raised awareness and interest in broadband. Because attendees came to the table better armed with information, interactive sessions were possible, where small groups discussed the statewide broadband recommendations and other broadband topics.

General consensus on the statewide recommendations was that the focus on ubiquity was good, but that the speed goals were slower than necessary to be a world leader. Attendees recognized that public contact with the legislators will be essential to keep the recommendations alive and broadband on the state agenda.

Attendees also heard an inspiring talk from Geek Squad Founder and Best Buy CTO Robert Stephens, who spoke about the impact that that the iPhone and iPad will have on everything – but for the communities that means that telling your story online has become even more important because people are increasing going online to get information. That sentiment was echoed by students from University of Minnesota Morris presenting on how communities can recruit and retain youth.

In conjuncture with the conference, Blandin also released two new reports. MIRC Communities Baseline Study: A study evaluating broadband adoption in 11 rural MN communities by Jack Geller at The EDA Center, University of Minnesota, Crookston, which looks at broadband adoption in rural Minnesota – especially the areas participating in Blandin’s MIRC project. Jack’s report indicates that most people with computers have broadband. The demographic least likely to have broadband is seniors. So adoption programs that put computers (or maybe iPads and iPhones) in the right hands might make a real difference. The second report, A Community Guide to Broadband Policy: a Comparison of Minnesota and federal broadband policy work, looks at the national and state broadband plans from a local community perspective – highlighting the benefits and barriers in each.

We are at an interesting crossroads with broadband. More than $240 million of ARRA broadband funding will be a game changer in the broadband topology in the state. The conference demonstrated that communities who received money are willing to share what they are learning – but it’s up to the communities who didn’t receive funding to find ways to expand broadband locally or be left behind. As a state those communities are also our concern; broadband expansion is something community members must do for themselves, but they can’t do it alone. We need policies and opportunities that support and promote broadband deployment and adoption in all communities.

Want to stir the Minnesota broadband pot in your neck of the woods? Contact Ann Treacy to get involved!

“The following questions for the three major-party candidates were jointly prepared by the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, LifeScience Alley, Minnesota High Tech Association and MN Nano — for educational purposes only; there will not be an endorsement forthcoming.

Issues were presented for candidate consideration in four categories: economic development, workforce/education, infrastructure and business environment. This is additional information as you consider which candidate(s) are best-suited to provide public-sector leadership to retain and grow Minnesota’s science and technology industries.”

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