The prime target of the protest is the Communications Decency Act , the part of the telecom bill that would outlaw the transmission of sexually explicit materials to minors.

CNN: Debate rages over bill to restrict 'Net smut

At the core of the protest ultimately is the fact that some people dislike the notion of a monthly bill in order to be able to use a piece of software.

FORBES: Adobe's Creative Cloud Move Causes Outcry And Confusion

Peter Edelman, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services who resigned in protest over last year's welfare bill, has written a searing indictment of welfare reform in the current issue of Atlantic Monthly.

ECONOMIST: The muddled maths of welfare-to-work | The

But Mr Straw insisted there was nothing in the bill which would interfere with the right of peaceful protest.

BBC: Anti-terror bill under attack

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in a final protest in Paris against a bill to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption.

BBC: Gay marriage opponents mass in Paris for final rally

The move was opposed by many conservatives and the Catholic Church in France, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to turn out for protest marches in Paris as politicians debated the bill.

CNN: French president signs same-sex marriage bill into law

In January, a protest in Paris against the bill attracted some 340, 000 people according to police - one of the biggest public demonstrations in France in decades.

BBC: Same-sex marriage: French parliament approves new law