While we are all paying attention to the SCOTUS rulings on Affirmative Action, this seems to have slipped underneath the radar:
With none of the fanfare that usually accompanies the introduction of a new bill, Rep. Lamar Smith (R.-Tex.) quietly slipped proposed new legislation into the hopper Thursday calling for greater FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) involvement in Hollywood’s ongoing war against file swappers.
The Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003 (H.R. 2517) calls for the FBI to “develop a program to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement,” including increased information sharing of suspected online copyright violations among various law enforcement agencies, copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs). In addition, the DoJ would be required to formulate programs to educate the public on copyright laws.
Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, found a co-sponsor of the bill in Rep. Howard Berman (D.-Calif.), who introduced legislation in the last Congress that would have authorized copyright owners to hack into computers of suspected file swappers.
Orrin Hatch got beat up last week for his remarks, and it appears that these fellows intend to follow through where Hatch let off. Here is the list of Smith’s top contributors. Here is the list of Berman’s, who received 40k from Hollywood in 2002). Here is a list of how much Hollywood gave in 2002.