A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate are readying a draft proposal that would provide an alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act.
Instead of using the courts to force search engines and ISPs to block websites accused of copyright infringement, as SOPA and Protect IP would, the alternative suggests simply cutting them off from all sources of funding, just like the banks did to WikiLeaks.
The lawmakers would accomplish this by regulating illegal downloads as a matter of international commerce. Doing so, the group of lawmakers hope to see the International Trade Commission (ITC) take charge of combating piracy, instead of judges. The ITC would be tasked with reviewing claims of online infringement against foreign website owners, ordering them cut off from funding if the claims prove true.
It would also set up a rapid-response mechanism for temporary disconnections from funding if an imminent harm can be demonstrated by a copyright holder, such as broadcasters who air live events that are being illegally streamed online.
“We think this is the correct way to approach policy,” Jennifer Hoelzer, deputy chief of staff to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), told Raw Story. “This really is an international trade issue. If someone downloads a movie off a foreign website, it’s similar to importing a DVD from a foreign company.”
Read the rest at Raw Story
by Stephen C. Webster
Government discovers another lever of power.
Government discovers another lever of power.
1 comment:
Clever (and I think, positive) way of redefining online piracy to include a profit element; someone who's uploading content for free won't have any funding sources to cut off.
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