A single senator on Friday stalled a bill that would give the federal government the ability to shut down websites allegedly participating in copyright infringement.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden announced his opposition to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act at a committee hearing on Friday. The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee one day earlier.

The bill has drawn a lot of opposition. Many critics say it will trample free-speech rights (PDF) and could give the government the ability to censor controversial websites such as WikiLeaks.

"Deploying this statute to combat online copyright infringement seems almost like using a bunker-busting cluster bomb, when what you need is a precision-guided missile," Wyden said in an article on Raw Story.