US preparing bills to criminalize P2P
Wired News says two U.S. bill proposes to increase penalties and lower burden of proof against users of filesharing networks. It will allow the DOJ to take civil action against file sharers on behalf of rights holders – a fundamental change in how copyright enforcement works. Senator Orrin Hatch describes peer-to-peer network as a pornographic conspiracy that uses children as “human shields”. Both bills are sponsored by senators who received large donations from the entertainment industry.
In addition, on Thursday’s Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) introduced a bill that would allow the Ministry of Justice to pursue civil cases against file sharers, again making it easier for law enforcement to punish people trading copyright music over peer-to-peer networks. They dubbed the bill “Protecting Intellectual Rights against Theft and Expropriation Act of 2004,” or the Pirate Act.
In defending the Pirate Act, Hatch said the operators of P2P networks that are running a conspiracy in which they lure children and young people with free music, movies and pornography. With these “human shields”, P2P companies are trying to ransom for the entertainment industry to accept their network as a distribution channel and revenue.
If [Closing the P2P loophole in 17.U.S.C. ยง 506] draft becomes law, anyone sharing 2,500 or more pieces of content such as songs or movies, could be fined or thrown in jail. In addition, also anyone who distributes content that has not been released in wide distribution (for example, pre-release copies of an upcoming movie) would face the penalties. Even a single file is determined by a judge to be worth more than $ 10,000, would land the file sharer in prison.