[FYI] US 'Pirate Act' raises civil rights concerns
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Within a week, the Senate may vote on the so-called Pirate Act, a bill
that would authorize the US Justice Department to pursue civil lawsuits
against suspected copyright infringers, with fines up to hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
Senator Orin Hatch argues that such legislation is necessary to deter
widespread copyright infringement, since no "nongovernmental
organization has the resources or moral authority to pursue such a
campaign."
Opponents of the Pirate Act are alarmed by how quickly it has run
through the legislative process; it was introduced to the Judiciary
Committee on March 25, had one hearing, and was forwarded to the Senate
for a vote within a month.
Philip Corwin, lobbyist for Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa
network, argues that the movie and music industry has stealthily
lobbied for the bill to avoid testifying before Congress that copyright
suits should be paid for by taxpayer dollars.
The Justice Department is reluctant to pursue criminal charges against
users of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, prompting the bill
authorizing civil charges.
[...]
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