(Image Source: Diverse Education)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

To the critics who say Congress never listens -- Exhibit A:

BLOOMBERG: “Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has announced that a vote on SOPA, he is pushing it off.”

MSNBC: “Reid says the recent events with all of the online protests raised legitimate issues...”

And all it took was, ohh, thousands of websites moving to blackout the web in a day of protest.

Controversial anti-piracy legislation known as SOPA in the House, PIPA in the Senate -- even took a beat down Thursday night by the GOP presidential candidates at the CNN debate in South Carolina.

NEWT GINGRICH: “I favor freedom.”
MITT ROMNEY: “The law as written is far too intrusive.”
RON PAUL: “This bill is not going to pass, but watch out for the next one.”

CNN’s Kate Balduan notes -- despite Harry Reid’s optimism both sides could eventually work something out -- it’s really back to the drawing board for the controversial legislation.

“It was clear that top Democrats really have known for days that it was going be a pretty tough climb to stare down the Internet in light of the protests and difficult to win support...”

So with Friday’s announcements from House and Senate leaders -- Politico says SOPA and PIPA are effectively dead. At least for now. As for winners and losers, Jennifer Martinez suggests,

“The decision to delay the vote strikes a fierce blow to Hollywood, which has been lobbying the Hill hard for months to pass anti-piracy legislation. But it also signals the burgeoning strength of the tech industry, which said the legislation threatened the very openness of the Internet and would thwart innovation.”

The bill’s opponents are celebrating -- with many crediting Wednesday’s blackout protests. But on Thursday -- Anonymous attacked sites of some of the bill’s supporters, like RIAA and the MPAA. Forbes’ Kashmir Hill says -- that was a step too far.

“...this builds on what can only be called political thuggery by these particular advocates. … In fighting for the rights of the Internet ‘to be free,’ Wednesday’s black-out protesters are to Anonymous what Martin Luther King, Jr. was to Malcolm X.”

Both sides do seem to agree something needs to be done about online piracy. But Rolling Stone’s Scott Steinberg worries -- given the world of differences between both sides on how to do that -- will we ever see something meaningful?

“For the foreseeable future, any actions aimed at restricting online sharing … will likely emerge so mangled from impending clashes that they'll have scant impact on one's ability, legal or otherwise, to download favorite songs and albums.”