[Politech] Congress takes aim yet again at P2P users, film at 11 [ip]

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 17:47:02 PST

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    Copy of PDEA:
    http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/pdf/ne/2004/pdea2004.pdf
    
    ---
    
    http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5182898.html
    
    House panel approves copyright bill
    March 31, 2004, 4:55 PM PST
    By Declan McCullagh
    
    A House of Representatives panel has approved a sweeping new copyright 
    bill that would boost penalties for peer-to-peer piracy and increase 
    federal police powers against Internet copyright infringement.
    
    The House Judiciary intellectual property subcommittee voted for the 
    "Piracy Deterrence and Education Act" (PDEA) late Wednesday, overruling 
    objections from a minority of members that it would unreasonably expand 
    the FBI's powers to demand private information from Internet service 
    providers.
    
    The PDEA--the result of intense lobbying from large copyright holders 
    over the past six months--has emerged as a kind of grab-bag that 
    combines other proposals unsuccessfully advanced in the past. One 
    section that first surfaced last year punishes an Internet user who 
    makes available $1,000 in copyrighted materials with prison terms of up 
    to three years and fines of up to $250,000. If the PDEA became law, 
    prosecutors would not have to prove that $1,000 in copyrighted materials 
    were downloaded--they would need only to show that those files had been 
    publicly accessible in a shared folder.
    
    One part of the PDEA that did not appear in earlier bills would require 
    the FBI to "facilitate the sharing" of information among Internet 
    providers, copyright holders and police.
    
    "I am sure (that its sponsor) does not mean to expand the powers of the 
    FBI," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said during the subcommittee hearing. 
    "The concern I have is that this is very ambiguous. The language itself 
    could lead an aggressive FBI to a different conclusion." Lofgren's 
    attempt to amend the PDEA failed by a 4-14 vote.
    
    [...remainder snipped...]
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