We lose it Streaming; While SOPA and PIPA have ceased to be a threat (or so they want us to believe), the Obama administration is still determined to make movie and music streaming illegal, making it a felony. The Department of Justice argues that this change is necessary to adequately prosecute unauthorized streaming services. In addition, the government requested permanent funding to be used to crack down on foreign websites such as Pirate bay with "diplomatic and commercial pressures."
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed for the penalties and for the remedies that may be used for them online copyright infringements. One of the speakers was David Bitkower, Assistant Attorney General, who testified to the wishes of the Obama administration.
After great successes, such as closing down Megaupload and prosecuting the group members IMAGINE, Bitkower explained the evolving challenges of copyright holders.
From illegal downloading to floppy disks in the 90s to today, new technologies bring new threats, he argued. With the rise of broadband access piracy has worsened and the latest challenge is to combat illegal streaming services.
The problem for the Department of Justice and copyright holders is that these services are more difficult to prosecute. Technically, streaming does not count as distribution, but as public performance, which can be charged, legally, only as a misdemeanor. To put it simply, there can be no prosecution as nothing is stored in the permanent memory of the computer (tough δίσκος) αλλά μόνο στο buffer (προσωρινή μνήμη) για την αναπαραγωγή.
The Obama administration tried to correct this 2012 by implementing the SOPA and PIPA bills, but after the public outcry, it put them in the drawer.
In addition to criminalizing Streaming, Bitkower also called for funds to support international anti-piracy activities. In recent years the Ministry of Justice has trained police forces abroad to deal with copyright infringement.
The international program helped close Megaupload, but it could also target Pirate Bay with "diplomatic and commercial pressure." According to Torrentfreak, the problem facing the United States there is that there is not much they can do, as all indications are that the Pirates political party is directly linked to Pirate Bay.
