White House Wants New Copyright Law Crackdown 652
An anonymous reader writes "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'""
Paying back those Hollywood donors (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks like Obama is paying another installment on the debt he owes to his Hollywood buddies [go.com].
Between Democrats in bed with Hollywood and Republicans in bed with big business, wouldn't it be nice to have at least *one* choice in an election who doesn't support draconian DRM, Feds kicking in our doors because little Jimmy downloaded an advance screener of The Dark Knight, and ISP's tracking and archiving our every click on the internet? Would that be too goddamn much to ask?
WTF (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Someone noticed that something popular is not illegal. ...
2) Lobby to have it made illegal.
3)
4) Profit.
wheres my reparations? (Score:4, Insightful)
Can't wait 'til we get Duh Bush out! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sick of him selling-out to these megacorps. Damn Republican. What we need is a Democrat president who is not a puppet of the corporations.
Re:Warez (Score:5, Insightful)
You have to admit that copyright infringement is a major problem that needs to be handled one way or another.
Why? If people create content regardless of copyright infringement, which is the purpose of copyright, I fail to see why it's a major problem that needs to be handled.
How does that Hopey-Changey horseshit taste? (Score:0, Insightful)
That's what you idiots get for buying into the Obama facade. He's a master at telling you what you want to hear so that you'll be lulled into a contented stupor while he carries out his anti-freedom agenda. I hate MTV voters. Next time do some f-ing research, you clowns. Try voting with your mind instead of your emotions. And before some troll tries to point out that McCain wasn't much better, well, next time try supporting a third-party candidate. The only reason third-parties don't gain any traction is because of your lazy, defeatist attitude.
Re:WTF (Score:5, Insightful)
How could media ever survive... (Score:4, Insightful)
with free shows paid for by advertising, like TV or radio? Uh, wait a second....
Still no justice for... (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody has gone to jail for crashing the world economy.
Nobody has gone to jail for authorizing or committing acts of torture.
Nobody has gone to jail for placing unconstitutional wiretaps.
Yet we have room in our prisons for people who share files. It is more clear than ever that the US justice system exists to protect the powerful against the less powerful. There is no justice system, there is an exploitation system.
Re:So, this is what America has come to? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seeing how Stood is past tense, you still can admire what America "Stood" for (whatever you think that was).
However, if you think that this is the only thing the government is concerned with or doing at the moment, or that it's even the biggest priority you would be sorely mistaken. You see, I can say "I want X, Y, and Z, done, oh yea, do A also" and it wouldn't make A a priority. However, because A is something you are concerned with, you might hear about it by itself. It still doesn't make it a priority of government.
Now I understand that it might ultimately be a higher priority then what you want to happen. But that's really a indication of your priorities, not the governments.
Re:Can't wait 'til we get Duh Bush out! (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sick of him selling-out to these megacorps. Damn Republican. What we need is a Democrat president who is not a puppet of the corporations.
Same problem, different president, different corporations.
I think you'll find that the position lends itself to corruption.
Re:Warez (Score:5, Insightful)
They're free to release their content and for free if they want to.
His point wasn't that people can't create content freely.
His point is that the purpose of copyright is to encourage the creation of creative works. Today, with the existing system, there are PLENTY of creative works being produced. Therefore, copyright certainly does not need to be made more restrictive, and in fact the opposite may be true.
Re:Paying back those Hollywood donors (Score:5, Insightful)
Is that to goddamn much to ask?
Yes. I think that having the government involved in non-commercial infringement at all is way over the line.
If Sony wants to sue my kid for copyright infringement, fine. If my kid is selling copyrighted materials and the government arrests him, fine. But having the government do Sony's contract enforcement is just plain horrid.
Re:How does that Hopey-Changey horseshit taste? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Illegal streaming not covered by criminal law"? (Score:5, Insightful)
Constituents (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Still no justice for... (Score:5, Insightful)
To be more specific: Madoff went to jail for personally scamming and lying to the rich and powerful, costing them money.
The trail between him and his victims is very clear. The trail between the victims and the perps in the more recent problems isn't as clear. Also: Madoff did scam the rich and powerful, whereas the more recent financial crises have worked out quite well for those who already had money. Bonuses are bigger than ever on Wall Street, but "Main Street", not so much.
Re:How does that Hopey-Changey horseshit taste? (Score:4, Insightful)
Well that is one of the advantages of the USA over others. term limits on the president.
Now we just need term limits for all elected officials and maybe we can finally start making some progress.
Re:Paying back those Hollywood donors (Score:5, Insightful)
The US will never go all 'Egypt' on itself. Too many people just don't care about the things you and others do. Too many people have somewhat decent lives. If anything, there will be a couple small riots that only hurt the rioters, they will be put down by police using less then lethal means, and because a good portion of the US is property owners, they will cheer the cops on for helping protect their property.
The US is no where near the situation that made Egypt even viable let alone work.
Why do people think Democrats aren't in bed (Score:5, Insightful)
with big business? What in the hell is Wall Street then? If that is not the top end of big business then I don't know what is. Who is GE, who is Google? They are both in bed with big business. This is President Wall Street, from his cabinet picks to the bills that pass. Oh sure, they have ominous we are going to rein in big business names, but you can be damn sure all those contribute are immediately exempt, like how none of the big unions are subject to the new health care law.
We can't change the Democrats or Republicans so we need to work on the American people. They need to learn that the only way change will occur is if they elect people who don't ascribe to the party line of either the D or R side. Trouble is, far too many are interested in getting everything handed to them while at the same time decrying its cost. The American people need to change before their government will.
Re:Warez (Score:3, Insightful)
It's also strange that many leftists seem to adore copyright, even though it's a system designed around a monopoly on thought and removal of freedom.
Greed makes for strange bedfellows, I guess.
Re:Still no justice for... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:How does that Hopey-Changey horseshit taste? (Score:5, Insightful)
What happens if you actually happen to find someone who is doing the country some good? Would it not be better to allow them to stay in power?
Not worth the risk, IMHO. Nobody can hold The Ring for that long and not be corrupted by it.
Re:So, this is what America has come to? (Score:4, Insightful)
http://tribes.tribenetwork.com/america/thread/2f215d2a-8c88-437c-82ec-cc78ee7588df [tribenetwork.com]
Take away enough people's right to bear arms, vote or otherwise have a say in society and the remaining population is much easier to control. Pretty soon just disagreeing with the government position will be a felony, thereby removing that position from the debate and allowing our corporatist overlords complete control while being able to claim the US is still a democracy (or republic, or whatever term your prefer).
America better wake up soon or it'll be too late (if it's not already).
Re:Like, watch a YouTube video? (Score:4, Insightful)
Everyone commits crimes on a regular basis. It's just that most of them are so trivial that there is no reason to enforce the law, even when in princible there could be a jail term of many years.
Re:Warez (Score:4, Insightful)
Wait, our choices are "perpetual copyright" or "self-entitled bastards who think they should get everything for free"? WTF ever happened to *sane* copyright law instead? Say backing it down to a level where creators have plenty of time to make money off of $WORK but it does eventually enter the public domain, preferably within a generation or so.
Say 50 years total from date of first presentation, or 5 years per term with an increasing fee schedule for each successive term purchased (with the first four being dirt cheap, then ramping up dramatically each time -- that way it eventually becomes unreasonable as a business decision to renew Steamboat Willie again)
Quite the opposite (Score:4, Insightful)
If more and more of the 'silent majority' - if you will - stays home, then the only result is more bug-fuck crazy fringe candidates being elected by an increasingly influential bug-fuck crazy fringe electorate.
Re:Warez (Score:2, Insightful)
This is exactly the type of rhetoric we hear from the left all the time. "You should listen to those who know better. You should care more about the community over your own desires; conservatives are just a bunch of ignorant hillbillies clinging to old ideas and fooled in to voting against their own best interests"
In actuality, the left is leading us right back into feudalism, where men are enslaved to lords, knowledge is left to the ruling class, and freedom and ingenuity are hindered to prevent man from reaching his full potential. This is exactly why our founders pulled us away from the ideas of Europe and gave us every right and freedom the feudalists said were wrong to have.