Thoughts on the “three strikes” law
The RIAA and MPAA have not been coy about suggesting that what the U.S. needs is a “three strikes” law like the one under consideration in France, under which serial illegal downloaders, say, would lose their internet access after a series of warnings.
Hitsville favors this approach if the principle is extended to other aspects of the debate.
If Mitch Bainwol, the head of the RIAA, lies three times to reporters via email, he loses his internet access. If he lies three times on the phone, the RIAA has its phone lines cut off.
If the RIAA files three frivolous lawsuits, it loses access to the courts.
If Warner Bros. is found to have not paid three artists their royalties, it is prohibited from selling CDs. If Sony records is found to have paid off three radio stations to play songs by its artists, in violation of federal payola laws, it loses all access to terrestrial radio.
Am I on to something?
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Bill –
I actually think the RIAA and MPAA *have* been quite coy about whether they support a French-style “three strikes” law in the US. Maybe I’ve missed it, but I don’t believe either has publicly stated that they favor new legislation that would explicitly require ISPs to terminate service upon a third infringement notice. And they certainly haven’t advocated for the creation of a new government agency to run such a program (like the French “HADOPI”).
The DMCA, which has been around for over 10 years, already requires ISPs to terminate “repeat infringers” if they want to maintain a safe harbor from infringement claims, though there is some dispute about what that means, including whether multiple accusations by a copyright owner, or, rather, multiple court determinations, trigger the termination. See here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10208747-93.html?tag=mncol
Dream on Bill… I mean, in a country where you can steal the physical manifestation (i.e. CD, vinyl, cassette, cylinder) and receive a misdemeanor, but, acquire the digital form (usually inferior fidelity) in a non-sanctioned manner and suffer consequences well beyond the scope of the alleged “crime,” no one cares anymore whilst waiting for the Dark Nets to save them. Maybe we can subject Bainwol to the new Chris Cornell album every time he’s in a RIAA HQ elevator en route to his next circle-jerk?