The Obama Administration: Getting Ready to Wiretap You for using Youtube

[Perpetual Change]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/obama-ip-czar-wants-felony-charges-for-illegal-web-streaming.ars

Streaming: The government wants to make sure that, as online piracy moves increasingly to streaming, the law keeps up with the activity. Currently, "reproducing" and "distributing" copyrighted works are felony charges, and they cover peer-to-peer file-sharing. But streaming seems more like a "public performance"—and holding a public performance without a proper license is not a felony.

As Espinel's paper notes, "questions have arisen" about this distinction, and those questions "have impaired the criminal enforcement of copyright laws." She wants Congress to "clarify that infringement by streaming, or by means of other similar new technology, is a felony in appropriate circumstances."

Wiretaps: The FBI and other federal agencies can tap phones and Internet connections for a whole host of serious crimes, but criminal copyright and trademark cases are not among them. Espinel wants to change this situation.

"Wiretap authority for these intellectual property crimes, subject to the existing legal protections that apply to wiretaps for other types of crimes, would assist US law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate those offenses, including targeting organized crime and the leaders and organizers of criminal enterprises," says the new whitepaper.

Radio: Radio stations currently pay cash to songwriters for the music they play, but the stations don't have to pay the actual bands who recorded the material. That's because the US lacks a public performance right for recorded music played by radio stations, unlike most other nations (a situation which means that most other countries won't pay US artists, either, until we pay their artists).

Espinel suggests the creation of public performance rights for music on the radio, which the US already has for satellite broadcasting and webcasting. But the broadcasting lobby has opposed the move ferociously, claiming that its unique exemption from payment is because radio has such promotional force for artists.

Remember, guys. Next time you decide to stream that low-res leak of the new Hannah Montana album you could be facing the blacklist.

[Bombardana]

I for one think this would have made a thrilling sixth season for The Wire.

[Super Dude]

YouTube is not mentioned once.

[Perpetual Change]

YouTube is not mentioned once.

The section on Streaming.

[El Barto]

I'd just like to point out that all those posts I've made about the erosion of freedoms coming in small, bite sized increments are actually validated by this article.

"Wiretap authority for these intellectual property crimes, subject to the existing legal protections that apply to wiretaps for other types of crimes, would assist US law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate those offenses, including targeting organized crime and the leaders and organizers of criminal enterprises," says the new whitepaper.

The legal protections for wiretaps in other crimes are non-existent.  People like to say that they have nothing to fear as all of these laws are only about preventing terrorism.  This is why that's bullshit. 

And who's really surprised anyway?  Obama cares about civil liberties about as much as Dumbass did, and the first thing he did was stack his DOJ with lawyers and lobbyists from the entertainment industry.  The only surprising part is that it took this long.

[Perpetual Change]

I'd just like to point out that all those posts I've made about the erosion of freedoms coming in small, bite sized increments are actually validated by this article.

And, at the time, I didn't really believe it was all necessarily the case. I mean I've always known things like the Patriot Act were bogus but I've never imagine considering watching low-res streaming video to be a punishable offense.

At least I can rest my conscience knowing that, no matter what I believed, it's not like I could have voted some way to try and stop it from happening.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

My question is: can they really enforce this?

[Perpetual Change]

My question is: can they really enforce this?

I don't know, but they can try. And the problem there is going to be the same problem with what happens when they enforce file sharing or pornography laws. Some poor guy who downloaded 5 Metallica songs or had accessed some questionable drawings of Family Guy characters is going to get fined up the wazoo and/or demonized by society. For most of us, life won't change. But some people will be hit hard simply because someone's decided they want to try and scare everyone by making an example or someone.

[Chino]

So they are now able to justify wiretapping everyone because too many people download movies?

[William Wallace]

There's several issues, and this is one of them, that make the left vs. right political discourse in this country look so comical.

 I also find the lobbying war between the music industry and radio ridiculous. So much effort goes into to keeping the feds on their side; all the while the people who listen to the radio and buy music are taken for granted.

[Super Dude]

YouTube is not mentioned once.

The section on Streaming.

Yeah YouTube isn't mentioned anywhere in that article, especially not there.  I want to emphasize two things, which I'll do with the help of the following:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/senate-legislation-threatens-key-anti-terrorism-tools/2011/03/09/ABuTopP_story.html

The Obama administration initially supported leaving these authorities in place but has backtracked

https://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/02/17/patriot-act-congress-sends-obama-short-term-wiretap-authority/

I want to point out that this bill only extends wiretapping authority for the next 90 days, not enough to make any substantial difference in our lives as it stands right now.

Finally, all articles I've looked at so far (including yours) have emphasized that this legislation will focus on pirated videos.

Maybe all you guys are right, I don't know.  But leaping at every suspect activity on the Obama administration's part is just as partisan as my defending him.

[El Barto]

SD:  The 90 days was a temporary extension so they could continue negotiating for the long term authorization he seeks.  They're not going to let the thing sunset in [whatever remains of the] 90 days.  He'll get the 2 years he wants, and then they'll get even longer.  As has been correctly opined so many times before, once the government gets power, they never give it back.

So they are now able to justify wiretapping everyone because too many people download movies?

As opposed to growing some pot in your backyard or ordering Back Door Sluts 9 through the mail?  It's like I said in the bolded part of my earlier quote:  get the law on the books via some scary concept like terrorism, then you can use it for whatever reasons you want.  Drugs, pr0n, theft of intellectual property,  or whatever other crimes appeal to the middle class.