White House wants new copyright law crackdown ("illegal streaming" a felony?)

[AlabamaLibrul]

The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making "illegal streaming" of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.

In a 20-page white paper (PDF), the Obama administration called on the U.S. Congress to fix "deficiencies that could hinder enforcement" of intellectual property laws.

<...>

Some of the highlights:

• The White House is concerned that "illegal streaming of content" may not be covered by criminal law, saying "questions have arisen about whether streaming constitutes the distribution of copyrighted works." To resolve that ambiguity, it wants a new law to "clarify that infringement by streaming, or by means of other similar new technology, is a felony in appropriate circumstances."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20043421-281.html#ixzz1GjLooBlT


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Just so we're clear, we can get a fucking 20 page "white paper" pressuring Congress on how people who listen to music on Youtube should be felons, but not one for, oh I dunno, a public option or something.

Is there any question whose side the WH is on anymore?

[sfwriter]

1. Yes, and AT&T wants to cap us...

They are a'cumin for my internets!

seriously...

it pisses me off

[Powdered Toast Man]

78. Don't get me started on them. They pissed me off so bad today.

I'm paying for "up to 6mbps" Apparently that means I 2.5 is enough. I want to ask them if I can pay them "up to" the amount the charge me monthly depending on my speed I'm actually receiving. My service is no slower than before I raised my plan.

[Poll_Blind]

2. You can always count on Obama!

PB

[ThomCat]

33. He'll propose anything to boost corporate profits and power.

Anything! Just go ahead and pitch the idea to him. It doesn't matter if it steps all over people's rights. He doesn't care. There's money to be made, and that's all that matters.

:grr:

This is the guy who campaigned as a progressive. Change we can believe in. Right... :(

[hifiguy]

44. True, that

I guess this is so much easier than doing something relevant and useful. Like having law enforcement do something to put banksters behind bars.

[readmoreoften]

65. +1

[Lorien]

82. +1,000. He's done. nt

[LiberalAndProud]

3. Yes. Illegal streaming has caused thousands of people to die.

Wait. Oops my bad. I mean illegal WARS have caused thousands of people to die. Let's talk about deficiencies that hinder enforcement there first, then perhaps we'll have time to look at copyright infringments. Priorities. Gotta wonder.

[Angry Dragon]

4. I want a 20 page white paper on anti-trust

Let's break up these media corps
Let's break up these banks too bit to fail

[hlthe2b]

5. Oh for gawd's sakes..

May as well make us pay to watch your f>king news conferences as well. After all, someone MUST make a profit at all cost.

[midnight]

6. Instead let's regulate the banks...

[Initech]

30. Oh come on you know we don't have time for rational solutions!

:evilgrin:

[denem]

7. Hollywood is Liberal and Good Donors too. Clinton carried the DCMA

What did you expect.?

[eShirl]

8. maybe they can investigate possible war crimes first

yeah, I know

[rubberducky]

9. We`re going to need more prisons!

See,, it`s really a jobs program!

[slay]

15. +1

you will do as you are told or you will be dealt with! -- that's the plan at least. personally, for my part, i do not plan to comply. :evilgrin:

[Imagevision]

10. Obama, enjoy it while you got it baby - tic-toc time is running out...

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. And expands use of wiretaps. didja notice?

Right up there with "material support of terrorism and use of weapons of mass destruction"

Nice that the Admin. can take the time to expand spying on citizens in the midst of so many other important issues.

[Karmadillo]

12. Over there! Sarah Palin!

nt

[AlabamaLibrul]

13. Ms. Palin hasn't commented yet but I'm told

to be scared because she would do something totally right-wing on this issue.

[slay]

14. The White House has been exposed as enforcer for corporations - NOT protector of the people

i always knew the republicans were like this but seeing this as a priority from Obama is heartbreaking. i have lost all faith in the democrats. i think a war/revolution between the haves and have nots is only a matter of time at this point. do you want to worry every time you might post the wrong thing to youtube and the fucking FBI shows up? or even just that they would monitor that shit? we are talking about a constant state of fear. this IS BIG BROTHER - have no doubt.

i hope the death of capitalism comes sooner than later - i don't know how much more the people can take. corporate greed knows no bounds. :mad:

[999998th word]

19. K+R

[nc4bo]

16. Skipping right to last sentence; it's a couple years obvious now - not on ours. nt

[BuelahWitch]

17. Oh yeah *this* is gonna energize the base...

NOT! :grr:

[Imagevision]

18. Obama; "Fool me once, shame on me - Fool me twice? (never happen!)

[Bake]

59. To quote W ... we don't get fooled again

Wow. I can't believe I just quoted W ... something about a broken clock.

Bake

[Night Crawler]

20. Screw That! I average 2 novels and a couple of movies a week

some of which I get before they even hit the bookstores or theaters. I ain't paying 25 to 30 bucks for a hardcover or 11 bucks to see a movie again.

Thank you seeders, free access to media for all!

[nc4bo]

24. I'm thinking more of those who stream music/OTR online....

They're normally not in it for the money at all. So I guess they will be considered felons too?

[tammywammy]

45. Or you could just go to your local library

And for movies, I wait until they're On Demand or on tv.

[valerief]

21. Well, at least we know what's important to the WH. nt

[obxhead]

22. So glad Obama can find the time for the really important things.

The only change I see is that hopes have been dashed.

[davidinalameda]

23. must have missed the part of the article talking about Youtube

:shrug:

[AlabamaLibrul]

28. Youtube is streaming, often of this apparently felonious copyrighted content. But you knew that. n/t

[davidinalameda]

38. I guess people shouldn't be able to protect and profit from what they create

I wonder if I could walk into a museum and start taking painting from the walls

always need something to brighten up the place

[DireStrike]

61. Your analogy is about as poor as it can get

Taking a one-of-a-kind painting compared to streaming content? Really?

And you think a felony sounds about right for this sort of thing?

[davidinalameda]

67. isn't the content one of a kind?

and why not a felony-stealing is stealing, no?

[DireStrike]

80. No to both questions.

[Occulus]

84. No digital file is ever one of a kind

and most actual theft is not a felony.

You FAIL. Miserably. As you always do when this issue is discussed.

[Bjorn Against]

25. So when is the White House going to charge Wall Street executives with felonies?

It is perfectly fine to steal billions just as long as you don't download an MP3 without paying the record labels .99 cents.

[nc4bo]

27. Wall Street, Banksters, Koch Bros, BP, Halliburton, Bush/Cheney & Co., etc. Disgusting isn't it? nt

[hlthe2b]

26. Q: "So, twenty years, eh.... What're ya in for?"

A: "Oh, I got bored and streamed an episode of Glee online one night. I'm now considered an enemy of the state."


:eyes:

[onenote]

29. one paragraph of a 20 page white paper discussed streaming

Most of it dealt with other subjects, like counterfeit pharmaceuticals, etc.

[nc4bo]

31. and economic espionage.

Why even throw the streaming thing in that big steaming pile of felonious behaviors? Especially if it is not done for financial benefit and does not cause physical harm?

[onenote]

32. because what they're really talking about are commercial sites

not peer to peer file sharing. The concern in the content community is with sites that take the signal from a service like HBO or ESPN without authorization to do so and stream it over the Internet, either for a fee or with commercial advertising support.

[Hutzpa]

34. I don't believe this story. n/t

[AlabamaLibrul]

35. Well, I'm sorry that your own lying eyes deceive you.

There's a link to the white paper right inside the article:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ip_white_paper.pdf

But perhaps somebody uploaded it there as a prank, to make Obama look bad.

[Hutzpa]

52. If that's the case then this law might have just helped

the republicans, no more linking to Obama fund raisers or anything positive about him
because it is a crime to do so otherwise.

[somone]

36. Illegal streaming is a national CRISIS that must be dealt with ASAP

because it's ... hurting our budget deficit? :sarcasm:

[Wilms]

37. He serves the rich.

Another tool.

[glitch]

76. As a spokesmodel he surpasses his competition though.

At least we don't have to be humiliated by style and substance anymore.

Just substance.

:sarcasm:

[demwing]

39. Thank you Obama!

once again you demonstrate that you have your finger on the pulse of the Nation, and have diagnosed exactly that which is truly important to the Democratic party, and to the American people.

[chill_wind]

40. DHS arrests Brian McCarthy (seizes domain channelsurfing.net)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=596987#597092

The complaint (punishable by 5 years:

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/dhscomplaint/?source=fdl


http://demandprogress.org/

Why this isn't a civil case, I don't know.

Homeland Security Inc-- busting heads on behalf of the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

[Hutzpa]

51. So according to that document

You have just committed a crime by linking to that document.

This makes no sense.

[chill_wind]

55. From the complaint (page 3) The offense being claimed is cataloging and linking

to the actual sites containing the illegal content. (IANAL but AFAIK, government court documents like this complaint itself are never copyrighted.) But when the content being linked to is copyrighted and being illegally distributed, the best sense I can make of this is that the complaint appears to be claiming some whole new sort of secondary tier of copyright infringement law in the actual act of linking or cataloging the links.

“Based on my participation in the investigation leading to the February 2011 seizure, I know that channelsurfing.net was a ‘linking’ website. Based on my training and experience, I know that ‘linking’ websites generally collect and catalog links to files on third party websites that contain illegal copies of copyrighted content…”

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/dhscomplaint/?source=fdl

They seem to be saying that by knowingly linking and getting paid advertsing, he was on the same level of felony as the actual sites doing the hosting, possessing and distributing.

[davidinalameda]

68. so the UFC has no right to protect its own product?

[JonLP24]

69. I think the complaint

involves Homeland Security involved in this. You would think their jurisdiction is terrorism or radical groups.

[davidinalameda]

71. From Wikipedia

The DHS National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) is responsible for the response system, risk management program, and requirements for cyber-security in the U.S. The division is home to US-CERT operations and the National Cyber Alert System.<44><45> The DHS Science and Technology Directorate helps government and private end-users transition to new cyber-security capabilities. This directorate also funds the Cyber Security Research and Development Center, which identifies and prioritizes research and development for NCSD.<45> The center works on the Internet's routing infrastructure (the SPRI program) and Domain Name System (DNSSEC), identity theft and other online criminal activity (ITTC), Internet traffic and networks research (PREDICT datasets and the DETER testbed), Department of Defense and HSARPA exercises (Livewire and Determined Promise), and wireless security in cooperation with Canada.<46>

On October 30, 2009, DHS opened the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. The center brings together government organizations responsible for protecting computer networks and networked infrastructure.<47>

it is responsible for on-line crimes as well

[JonLP24]

72. Obviously, they are busting the guy

but my point is others don't feel that protecting corporations interests is what their role should be. Without 9/11 we probably wouldn't have Homeland Security so I imagine the spirit it was created in was to fight terrorism. Personally I don't care that much because if it wasn't them, then it would be ICE or whoever.

[davidinalameda]

73. whether it's a corportion or an individual

intellectual property should be protected

how do you reconcile the fact that the Secret Service is in charge of both protecting our political leaders and handling counterfeiters

it does make sense that the FBI would handle these matters but the powers that be decided that DHS would handle on-line crime

honestly, it doesn't make who does it as long as someone does it

[chill_wind]

81. ICE is involved.

Some vigorous debate about "questionable legal theory." I don't think it seems all that debatable about the "intent of the linking" in this instance, but it seems new law is being written as we go conflating linking with hosting, and there becomes a question of trusting the government to decide "intent" in less obvious instances. I wonder if there's a white paper on that around somewhere.
At any rate, it doesn't look like they hung around waiting for any. I essentially agree with you. They going to do what they're going to do.

TechDirt- for others who want to read more about the discussion

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110303/16584013356/ice-arrests-operator-seized-domain-charges-him-with-criminal-copyright-infringement.shtml

[eilen]

41. I'm trying to remember when we didn't have a lying dickhead

in the Oval Office and I think it might have happened at some point in the 70s but then I was born in '65 and it has pretty much been wall to wall corporate suckass tools and the standard of living has diminished pretty steadily while the police state enforcing the "rights" of monopolies has grown.

[glitch]

77. They blew the brains out of the last one who wasn't, on national tv

in case anyone might somehow miss the message.

[Modern_Matthew]

42. Why doesn't he just put a big (R) next to his name and be done with it? nt

[slay]

48. That's a lot of truth

to be speaking. :thumbsup:

IBTDeleted sub-thread. :P

[DainBramaged]

43. Yup, hope..............

[meow mix]

46. fierce advocate... for corporations

spineless on anything progressive

[truebrit71]

47. I especially like the wire-tapping portion, nice touch Mr Hope 'n' Change...

..I am soooooooooooooooooooooo done with this guy...

[Shagbark Hickory]

49. Well hollywood did support him, afterall. They should get what they paid for.

[Mimosa]

50. Those people have the money to buy politicians.

And the politicians have been very servile on this one issue.

[coyote]

53. Forget the war criminals...

let's go after those evil downloaders!

[Baclava]

54. This is fucking bullshit !!- all the streaming hockey games I watch are illegal

oops - perhaps I've said too much

[TheKentuckian]

56. Gotta look forward on crimes against humanity but this require immediate attention

[Romulox]

57. Who said that this President had no guiding principles?

$$$

:hi:

[Moondog]

58. Say this for our POTUS -

When he's bought, he stays bought.

It's the Chicago Way.

[chill_wind]

63. There is that. n/t

[Fearless]

60. Because the War on Drugs is going SOOOOOOOO well.

:banghead:

[Dawgs]

62. Same shit. Different day.

I expect this kind of stuff now.

[Blue Owl]

64. We are the ones we've been streaming for...

Now let's win the future...

[endless october]

66. this initiative was bought and paid for.

And the repubs told me the patriot act would only be used to catch terrorists.

[Ignis]

70. K&R. "Is there any question...?"

None whatsoever. :(

[Jmaxfie1]

74. I usually try to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, but I really can't here n/t

[Canuckistanian]

75. Here's Obama's priorities in a nutshell, folks

Not Gitmo. Not illegal wiretapping. Not ending wars. Not RW extremist state governors slashing workers' rights.

Not even prosecuting bankers for illegal foreclosures and fraud.

No, he wants to punish people for downloading movies.

Yahoo. Hope and change all around, boys. Charge it to Koch Industries.

[jp11]

79. Good grief.

:puke:

Why not just lock us all up now and be done with it?

[donheld]

83. So how about 100 million american's turn themselves in all at once

and demand a jury trial.