An aide to Rep. William Owens says charges by his Republican opponent regarding the Congressman’s support of the Stop Online Piracy Act are “absurd” and “outrageous.”

Sean Magers, communications director for Owens, said today a statement from Watertown businessman and lawyer Matt Doheny yesterday, charging Owens with “selling out his constituency” over an Internet piracy bill, was “full of misleading accuracies.”

Magers said Owens, D-Plattsburgh, has always been open to improving the bill.

“These allegations are absurd. Outrageous claims like these do nothing to promote a civil discussion on the issue of internet piracy,” said Magers.

Doheny, the Republican candidate who ran against Owens in 2010 and lost and who is running again for the 23rd District seat, said Owens was resisting calls from constituents to drop his support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, which is aimed at protecting copyright owners from sales of pirated copies of their work on the Web, or from copies being distributed for free. Opponents fear that enforcing it would curtail access to the web.

Doheny alleged that Owens’ support was bought by unions and lawyers, among others, with campaign contributions.

“Congressman Owens has said all along that he is open to changes that improve the bill, while still protecting intellectual property rights and American jobs.”

A tide of protest against the bill this week, which included blackouts of popular web sites like Wikipedia, has forced some representatives to shift from supporting the bill to opposing it.

“The outreach we heard yesterday by constituents was a great example of Democracy in action, and we're confident appropriate changes will be made as the legislative process continues,” Magers said.