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Who’s up for a little “punishing the many for the crimes of the few”?

Posted in: frontpage, movies, music, news, politics and current events, technology by famicommander on October 13, 2008

Source.

Summary:
In its proposed state, the act could grant the government permission to seize all computers and compatible devices from a home if a single, pirated MP3 was discovered on one of the machines.

I’m all for stopping piracy; don’t get me wrong. I have nothing to hide and there is not a single pirated file on my hard drive. I fully believe that artists are entitled to compensation for their work. What worries me is how the government will be collecting the information which tells them who has illegal files.

Also, seizing your cell phone and PSP because they found (presumably through shady means) a single illegal file on your hard drive is absolutely ridiculous. The government is in no position to decide that you were going to violate the law and copy more MP3s just because you have devices which can play MP3s. They’re making unreasonable and unfounded assumptions, and it’s basically theft.

I didn’t see the government invading people’s privacy to stop my bike from getting stolen a few years ago. So why is it that they can violate my rights to protect the rights of these millionaire artists, when I myself have done nothing wrong?

Anyone who knows anything about the Internet knows how to avoid getting caught. All they’re going to do is end up busting the casual users who aren’t the root of the problem in the first place.

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3 Comments »

  1. Yeah. It’s really a shame that the government uses these shady means just to violate people’s privacy. Not really surprising, though, considering the lengths the RIAA has gone to keep pirating problems down. I suspect this is as much the fault of the RIAA pushing it through as it is the politicians. After all, politicians don’t really care about pirated music in the first place, but the RIAA does.

    Comment by jalexbrown — October 13, 2008 @ 9:10 pm

  2. Instead of seeking to destroy the root of the problem, they only exacerbate the issue by going after the light offenders.

    Comment by FoxhoundFox — October 13, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

  3. This sounds like ti could go horribly wrong. The Government (or governments) needs to relax a little about piracy.

    Comment by LoOpY — October 14, 2008 @ 2:49 pm

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