Last month, Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte had a front row seat at a particularly contentious political discussion. Interestingly, the heated exchange didn't happen at a Republican presidential debate, but instead occurred at a hearing in front of the typically placid House Judiciary Committee, of which Goodlatte is a member.

The bill at the heart of the debate is called the Stop Online Piracy Act, and it is driven by Hollywood studios and the recording industry. SOPA's goal is a good one, cracking down on "rogue" foreign websites that sell pirated, forged or counterfeit products. But as is often the case with legislation, the devil is in the details.

SOPA would gut the law that, for more than a decade, has provided a safe legal harbor for developing technology companies, protecting them from frivolous lawsuits. It's the law that has allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google to be the innovative job creators they've become. If that wasn't bad enough, SOPA could potentially undermine online national security efforts while also opening a new business pipeline for trial lawyers. Because of these serious issues with key aspects of the bill, technology companies, human rights organizations, consumer groups and many others have publicly voiced their opposition to it.

Stirring up controversy at the hearing was SOPA's "shoot first, ask questions later" approach. More specifically, copyright holders can ask search engines and Internet service providers to block U.S. access to any website suspected of infringing on copyright laws. What's more, the accuser doesn't necessarily need to be the one whose rights are allegedly being violated.

Without any court review, credit card companies, advertisers and search engines must cut off all activity to the website. If anyone does not comply with the process, copyright holders are given a license to sue and trial lawyers get a new client. This new pipeline of income for trial lawyers is especially worrisome, as Americans for Job Security has long advocated for loser-pays tort reform, particularly this year.

An important point of concern mentioned at the Judiciary Committee's hearing was the unprecedented "private right of action" SOPA creates. This means that a private party, without any involvement by a court, can effectively shut a website down. Innocent small businesses could be crippled by a notice sent by an unscrupulous competitor or anonymous troll.

Another serious issue with SOPA, and one that took center stage at the House hearing, is the real possibility the legislation could threaten our national security. Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security and former general counsel at the National Security Agency, has raised concerns about SOPA's rejection of the current set of Internet rules. Earlier this month, Baker said if SOPA is enacted, "the security system won't be able to tell the difference between sites that have been blocked by law and those that have been sabotaged by hackers." He also points out that SOPA will ruin years of work by the Department of Homeland Security to get the internet sector to agree on the current set of security rules.

Baker and the technology industry are not alone in their concerns about the bill. Over the past few weeks, a number of prominent lawmakers have zeroed in on the damage SOPA's heavy-handed regulations will do to the high-tech sector, small businesses and entrepreneurs. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Rep.Ron Paul,R-Tex., Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and many others have publicly voiced their concerns with the bill.

As the co-chairman of the Congressional Internet Caucus, it is incumbent upon Goodlatte to ask the tough questions about SOPA and the consequences it will have on America's technology sector -- the one area of the economy growing and flourishing despite the recession. As currently written, SOPA undermines core, conservative principles. The potential threat to our national security, the thicket of additional government regulations, and the benefits for the trial lawyer community at the expense of job creators are serious issues that we are depending upon Goodlatte to address.

Stephen DeMaura, president, Americans for Job Security

Read more: The Roanoke Times