The investor behind Google, Twitter and Facebook today claimed the technology giants would not exist if American anti-piracy laws had been passed.
At a rally against the Stop Online Piracy Act in San Francisco, venture capitalist Ron Conway claimed firms would be not be able to operate.
Conway said: "I've been fortunate enough to invest in Google, Facebook, and Twitter, all of whom would be severely compromised by this proposed legislation. The rules on sharing would mean that all social media is dead in the water. Companies such as Twitter and Facebook would be liable for the content on their site.
"If someone tweets a song they don't own, under this proposed legislation Twitter would be liable - it's ridiculous." Conway called for internet firms to try to find a technology to beat piracy. "It's about innovation, not legislation."
Conway was joined by rapper MC Hammer at the protest, who called the legislation "barbaric", and said he believed it was important for musicians to be able to take advantage of internet technologies.
"This Sopa Bill - on the surface they say it's to protect rights and content, but as you drill down you see all the clauses that would put a burden on service providers and allow the government to shut down sites without due process," said Hammer.
