Stars Sign Anti-Piracy Laws Petition

Trent Reznor, actor Aziz Ansari and rockers Ok Go are among a group of musicians, filmmakers and authors who have signed a petition against controversial new anti-piracy laws in the U.S. The Nine Inch Nails frontman is among those to have written an open letter to protest against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The bills are designed to crack down on internet piracy but they have drawn criticism over allegations they will stifle free speech on the web, with online database Wikipedia shutting down its English-language sites for 24 hours this week (beg16Jan12) in protest.

Reznor, Ansari, OK Go, author Neil Gaiman and Andy Samberg's rap group The Lonely Island are the latest high-profile critics of the proposals and they have signed a petition and posted an open letter online in a bid to stop the bills becoming law.

The letter reads, "We fear that the broad new enforcement powers provided under SOPA and PIPA could be easily abused against legitimate serviceslike those upon which we depend. These bills would allow entire websitesto be blocked without due process, causing collateral damage to the legitimate users of the same services - artists and creators like us who would be censored as a result".

Filmmaker Michael Moore also shut down his websites this week in his own protest against the proposals.