A pair of bills that would strengthen antipiracy laws — and that could essentially censor the Internet, according to heavyweights like Google — have received scant coverage from the major television networks. The parent companies of the TV networks are among the chief supporters of the bills, having lobbied Congress to write them in the first place.

Those two facts, taken together, have caused conspiracy theories to flourish online about corporate interference in news coverage.

Chris Hayes and the staff of his show on MSNBC, “Up,” knew that when they invited Richard Cotton — the chief lawyer for NBC Universal, MSNBC’s parent company — and a prominent opponent of the bills, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit.com, on their Sunday morning broadcast.

MSNBC does an admirable job breaking the television news silence on SOPA. Their suppport for the bill creates visible tension in providing this coverage.