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 Ministry Δικαιοσύνης υποστηρίζει ότι η αλλαγή αυτή είναι απαραίτητη για την άσκηση επαρκών διώξεων των μη εξουσιοδοτημένων υπηρεσιών streaming. Επιπλέον, η κυβέρνηση ζήτησε μόνιμη χρηματοδότηση που θα χρησιμοποιηθεί για την πάταξη ξένων ιστοσελίδων όπως το Pirate Bay με “διπλωματικές και εμπορικές πιέσεις.”
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed on the penalties and remedies that can be used for online copyright violations. One of the speakers was David Bitkower, Assistant Attorney General, who filed the wishes of the Obama administration.
Following great successes, such as the closing of Megaupload and the persecution of IMAGiNE members, Bitkower explained the evolving challenges of copyright owners.
From illegal downloading to floppy disks in the 90s to today, new technologies bring new threats, he argued. With the rise of broadband access the piracy has gotten worse and the latest challenge is fighting illegal streaming services.
The problem for the Department of Justice and copyright holders is that these services are more difficult to prosecute. Technically, streaming doesn't count as distribution, but as public performance, which can be charged, legally, only as a misdemeanor. To put it more simply, there can be no prosecution as nothing is stored in the permanent μνήμη of the computer (hard disk) but only in the buffer (temporary memory) for playback.
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, Mr. 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 it infringement Copyright.
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.
