[pp.int.general] US congress approves RIAA-friendly, citizen-threatening s.3325 bill

[Andrew Norton]

Valentin Villenave wrote:
> Greetings everybody,
> 
> Some of you may remember the latest pro-IP law that the RIAA ordered
> the Senate to vote; if not, you can read the whole story on the EFF's
> platform:
> http://www.eff.org/search?text=s.3325
> 
> Basically, what it does is to hand governmental power over to the
> RIAA, since it forces the Department of Justice to sue any citizen the
> RIAA tells them to sue. I guess our friends from Bayern will not be
> the last to see their computers arbitrarily confiscated :-(
> 
> Well, the bill was approved by this week by the whole Congress:
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10052271-38.html

Not exactly true. Title I of the bill (the DOJ prosecution part) was 
removed from the bill before it passed the Senate. Also, the DOJ and the 
Department of commerce both wrote to the bills sponsors last week, 
objecting to title I and Title IV the 'copyright Czar'). Their objection 
to title IV was on constitutional grounds. Basically the executive 
branch doesn't want an executive positiopn like this, that is controlled 
by the senate, or vice versa - its a seperation of powers thing. So, 
there's a strong chance of a veto.

> 
> The FSF, however, states that it has not become a law yet, and there
> are still measures to be taken:
> http://www.defectivebydesign.org/stop-revised-riaa-ip-enforcement-bill-s3325
> 
> As RMS noticed, both McCain and Obama voted the bill.
> 
> (and of course, what happens today in the USA is a pretty certain map
> of what will be our tomorrow in the EU)
> 
> Cheers,
> Valentin
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