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06/23/2003 Archived Entry: "FBI and RIAA to be co-enforcers?"

IF FASCISM IS A SYSTEM IN WHICH GOVERNMENT AND "PRIVATE" BUSINESS become increasingly indistinguishable, a bill introduced in Congress last week indicates just how blurry the business-government line has become in America.

HR-2517, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003, would put the FBI into the copyright-enforcement business. At the same time, it would authorize private organizations -- like the Recording Industry Association of America, the 800-pound canary for which the bill was apparently written -- to send suspected violators a letter composed by the FBI and bearing its seal. And keep in mind that this isn't some generalized "FBI Warning" like you see on videos (which is obnoxious enough); it's intended as a specific threat to a suspected violator, and as a vehicle to scare recipients into believing they're facing criminal enforcement, rather than a civil action.

This proposal is brought to you by the wonderful folks who, last year, introduced the bill to allow private industries to hack into the computers of suspected copyright violators. It was brought to my attention by Free-Market.net.

Posted by Claire @ 01:14 PM CST
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