News

RIAA and MPAA begging for table scraps at political conventions

12:41 p.m. · August 27, 2008 · by Andrew Winistorfer

The Democratic Party Convention is in full swing this week (or so I’m told, I’ve been too busy making my way through DVD’s of The Wire and Dexter. Somehow, it feels like a nobler pursuit), and two groups are maintaining a heavy presence in Denver: the MPAA and RIAA. The groups are trying to push legislation that would call for a cabinet-level copyright czar (I don’t know why we still call those positions another name for dictator). So, if the MPAA and the RIAA get their way in Denver (or next week in at the Republican Convention in St. Paul, MN), chasing grandmas who violated copyright law will be a pursuit of the U.S. government.

I can see the pitch now: “Yes candidate Obama, we understand your concern lies with the housing crisis, the war, and environmental concerns. But we propose chasing an enemy much more foul: people who download the Gym Class Heroes illegally.” [Wired]