RobMoney$
08-26-2008, 10:53 PM
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10024163-38.html
After taking over the Foreign Relations committee, Biden became a staunch ally of Hollywood and the recording industry in their efforts to expand copyright law. He sponsored a bill (http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-946732.html) in 2002 that would have make it a federal felony to trick certain types of devices into playing unauthorized music or executing unapproved computer programs. Biden's bill was backed by content companies including News Corp. (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-954651.html) but eventually died (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-956811.html) after Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, eBay, and Yahoo lobbied against it.
A few months later, Biden signed a letter (http://www.politechbot.com/docs/congress.p2p.letter.081002.pdf) that urged (http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-982121.html) the Justice Department "to prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks." Critics of this approach said that the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, and not taxpayers, should pay for their own lawsuits.
Last year, Biden sponsored (http://news.cnet.com/Senators-aim-to-restrict-Net,-satellite-radio-recording/2100-1028_3-6149915.html) an RIAA-backed bill called the Perform Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.00256:) aimed at restricting Americans' ability to record and play back individual songs from satellite and Internet radio services. (The RIAA sued (http://news.cnet.com/2061-11199_3-6073185.html) XM Satellite Radio over precisely this point.)
Peer-to-peer networks
Since then, Biden has switched from complaining about Internet baby-food bombs to taking aim at peer-to-peer networks. He held one Foreign Relations committee hearing (http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2002/02/13.asp) in February 2002 titled "Theft of American Intellectual Property" and invited executives from the Justice Department, RIAA, MPAA, and Microsoft to speak. Not one Internet company, P2P network, or consumer group was invited to testify.
Afterwards, Sharman Networks (which distributes Kazaa) wrote a letter (http://www.politechbot.com/docs/biden.kazaa.letter.030202.html) to Biden complaining about "one-sided and unsubstantiated attacks" on P2P networks. It said: "We are deeply offended by the gratuitous accusations made against Kazaa by witnesses before the committee, including ludicrous attempts to associate an extremely beneficial, next-generation software program with organized criminal gangs and even terrorist organizations."
Biden returned to the business of targeting P2P networks this year. In April, he proposed (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9920665-7.html) spending $1 billion in U.S. tax dollars so police can monitor peer-to-peer networks for illegal activity. He made that suggestion after a Wyoming cop demonstrated a proof-of-concept program called "Operation Fairplay" at a hearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
A month later, the Senate Judiciary committee approved (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9945915-7.html) a Biden-sponsored bill (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.01738:) that would spend over $1 billion on policing illegal Internet activity, mostly child pornography. It has the dubious virtue of being at least partially redundant: One section would "prohibit the broadcast of live images of child abuse," even though the Justice Department has experienced no problems in securing guilty pleas (http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/millerPlea.htm) for underage Webcamming. (The bill has not been voted on by the full Senate.)
I do not want this man in office.
I shudder to think what would happen if Biden ever became president.
After taking over the Foreign Relations committee, Biden became a staunch ally of Hollywood and the recording industry in their efforts to expand copyright law. He sponsored a bill (http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-946732.html) in 2002 that would have make it a federal felony to trick certain types of devices into playing unauthorized music or executing unapproved computer programs. Biden's bill was backed by content companies including News Corp. (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-954651.html) but eventually died (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-956811.html) after Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, eBay, and Yahoo lobbied against it.
A few months later, Biden signed a letter (http://www.politechbot.com/docs/congress.p2p.letter.081002.pdf) that urged (http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-982121.html) the Justice Department "to prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks." Critics of this approach said that the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, and not taxpayers, should pay for their own lawsuits.
Last year, Biden sponsored (http://news.cnet.com/Senators-aim-to-restrict-Net,-satellite-radio-recording/2100-1028_3-6149915.html) an RIAA-backed bill called the Perform Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.00256:) aimed at restricting Americans' ability to record and play back individual songs from satellite and Internet radio services. (The RIAA sued (http://news.cnet.com/2061-11199_3-6073185.html) XM Satellite Radio over precisely this point.)
Peer-to-peer networks
Since then, Biden has switched from complaining about Internet baby-food bombs to taking aim at peer-to-peer networks. He held one Foreign Relations committee hearing (http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2002/02/13.asp) in February 2002 titled "Theft of American Intellectual Property" and invited executives from the Justice Department, RIAA, MPAA, and Microsoft to speak. Not one Internet company, P2P network, or consumer group was invited to testify.
Afterwards, Sharman Networks (which distributes Kazaa) wrote a letter (http://www.politechbot.com/docs/biden.kazaa.letter.030202.html) to Biden complaining about "one-sided and unsubstantiated attacks" on P2P networks. It said: "We are deeply offended by the gratuitous accusations made against Kazaa by witnesses before the committee, including ludicrous attempts to associate an extremely beneficial, next-generation software program with organized criminal gangs and even terrorist organizations."
Biden returned to the business of targeting P2P networks this year. In April, he proposed (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9920665-7.html) spending $1 billion in U.S. tax dollars so police can monitor peer-to-peer networks for illegal activity. He made that suggestion after a Wyoming cop demonstrated a proof-of-concept program called "Operation Fairplay" at a hearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
A month later, the Senate Judiciary committee approved (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9945915-7.html) a Biden-sponsored bill (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.01738:) that would spend over $1 billion on policing illegal Internet activity, mostly child pornography. It has the dubious virtue of being at least partially redundant: One section would "prohibit the broadcast of live images of child abuse," even though the Justice Department has experienced no problems in securing guilty pleas (http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/millerPlea.htm) for underage Webcamming. (The bill has not been voted on by the full Senate.)
I do not want this man in office.
I shudder to think what would happen if Biden ever became president.