Cruising Slashdot, I came across this story, which, I should warn you now, has a lotta links to it.
The copyright battle has been discussed quite a bit here, almost as much as over there. I’ve decided to take the user commentary there with a grain of salt, all things considered, but could anyone, especially those who live in Tennessee and Arkansas, give me the Straight Dope on these bills?
There are a lot of issues here: will these bills pass? Are they a good thing? If not, what’s their chances of survival after they’re passed? What will they affect? Are these bills proof positive that non-corporate members of society have absolutely no say in government, as some on Slashdot claim?
Will they pass? I don’t really know anything about those legislatures. Advocates of tougher anti-piracy laws haven’t had any luck at the federal level lately.
Are they a good thing? Most certainly not. These bills are centered around the idea that piracy should be fought not by punishing the criminals, but rather by punishing the technologies that allow it, even if those technologies have many legitamite uses as well. Furthermore, the danger posed by piracy is greatly exaggerated by the people who push this legislation. There’s no real evidence that it’s having a serious negative impact on sales. Finally, the punishments imposed in this legislation are way too severe.
Chance of survival? Who knows? The Supreme Court shouldn’t allow them, but then again it shouldn’t have allowed the original DMCA either. The lobbyists are very powerful.