Orwellian new Copyright Bill HR2391 would criminalize skipping commercials, destroy Fair Use

This bill is, of course, promoted by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is being pushed through the Senate by their favorite Senator: Orrin Hatch from Utah. According to a wired News article, here are some of the things the bill would criminalize:

Anyone who uses the iTunes music sharing application could be charged with federal crimes and imprisoned. It would make it a criminal offense to skip television commercials -- because, of course, the broadcast networks want to force consumers to watch all advertisements by criminalizing people who skip ads. People who bring video cameras into movie theaters could wind up spending three years in prison for federal crimes. The bill would even allow the Justice Department to file civil copyright lawsuits on behalf of the recording industry, meaning that you can have the Justice Department at your door for something as simple as copying a few MP3 files for a friend.

Fair Use would also be destroyed. Artists wouldn't be able to use images of President Bush's face in funny flash animations, for example. Publishers would not be able to use a company logo in an article that makes fun of that company. And individuals would be denied the right to quote passages from articles, books, or magazines that deserve public comment. All such uses would be considered criminal and could earn you federal prosecution.

If this Senate bill passes, it will transform virtually every young American into a criminal, and at that point it will be up to the music industry and recording industry to decide who they want to imprisoned today. With every person defined as a criminal, it all comes down to "selective prosecution," where the industry targets anyone they want, because everybody is now technically a criminal.

These laws should never exist in a free society. These are the laws of a police state... one that seems to be ever more quickly creeping up on Americans in the post-9/11 era.

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