Congressman takes on online piracy

By Susan Rush
from CED Broadband Direct, July 29, 2002

Although members of technology companies, consumer electronics manufacturers and motion-picture studios have put their heads together to develop a new standard to prevent digital television broadcasts from being spread over the Internet, the results the entertainment industry wants may come from Congress.

Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation designed to give the entertainment industry more tools to combat peer-to-peer online piracy. If passed, the bill would enable content owners to legally hack into users' computers to thwart the online trading.

Broadband connections and software programs have made it easier to grab copyrighted music and movies from the Net, but Berman contends that there is no justification for this piracy. "Theft is theft, whether it is shoplifting a CD from a record store, or illegally downloading a song from Morpheus," he said.

The legislation does not allow content owners to "send viruses through P2P networks, destroy files, hack into the personal files of P2P users, or indiscriminately block lawful file trading." However, content owners would be allowed to get into consumer's audio and video files and force a computer off-line. Content owners would be required to outline their plans to the Justice Department before being able to take action against offenders.

Berman is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary subcommittee on courts, the Internet and intellectual property.