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Google is considering ditching the U.S. Chamber of Commerce out of frustration with its support for legislation that would force Internet companies to police websites that peddle pirated movies and fake Viagra.

The rumblings of a defection — a potentially serious blow to one of Washington’s most powerful lobbies — come weeks after Yahoo left the Chamber in October, largely over its support of Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) online piracy bill, the PROTECT IP Act.

A source close to Google said the company is “frustrated” about paying dues to an organization promoting legislation that would “impose new liabilities” on Google. A second source close to the company confirmed that thinking.

The Consumer Electronics Association, one of the country’s largest trade groups, is also weighing whether to part ways with the Chamber over its aggressive campaign for the Senate bill and its companion introduced in the House last week, the Stop Online Piracy Act, a tech industry source said.

The bills would require search engines and online ad companies to clamp down on websites that illegally peddle copyrighted movies, fake pharmaceuticals and other counterfeit products if served with a court order by the Justice Department.

CEA and some top Google executives have publicly argued that the bills would threaten innovation and encourage censorship of protected speech on the Web. More at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67603.html

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