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posted by chromas on Saturday August 25 2018, @10:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the you-wouldn't-download-a-speech dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

The entertainment industries are growing increasingly frustrated with major Internet platforms that, in their view, are not doing enough to tackle online piracy.

This was also the topic of a speech given by MPAA chief Charles Rivkin, during the TPI Aspen Forum yesterday.

[...] "I want to address one of the most vibrant and interconnected ecosystems in human history. That, of course, is the internet. And as we meet, the healthy and vibrant internet that we all want is in serious jeopardy," Rivkin says.

[...] While the complaints about Internet piracy are not new, the MPAA ties piracy in with more recent debates about fake news, election meddling, and hate speech. From Cambridge Analytica to Infowars.

Rivkin calls for a national conversation on how to return the Internet to a place of vibrant but civil discourse. A place where fake news, hate speech, and piracy are properly dealt with.

Eventually, this leads the MPAA's boss to Silicon Valley. Rivkin sees a major role for Internet platforms to do more to stop piracy and other types of abuse. If that doesn't happen voluntarily, the US Government could step in, he suggests

[...] The widespread problem of online piracy is a sign of worse to come, the MPAA chief suggests.

"Online piracy is also the proverbial canary in a coal mine. The same pervasive theft that my industry faces is part of a continuum of toxic developments that harm all of us in this ecosystem – consumers, creators, and commercial operators alike," he says.

In his speech, Rivkin refers to the "broken windows" theory to illustrate his point. This theory suggests that an atmosphere of lawlessness is created when small crimes are left unpunished. Seeing broken windows in the streets makes it more likely that others will start vandalizing as well.

Source: https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-is-the-internets-canary-in-the-coal-mine-mpaa-chief-says-180821/


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 26 2018, @04:48PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 26 2018, @04:48PM (#726593) Journal

    My views resemble yours. Currently copyright and patent laws are unjust. If they were to be made just again, I could respect them. So long as they remain unjust, I can have no respect for the law, nor for the people who made the laws. It isn't even possible to respect those people who should be correcting the unjust laws, and fail to do so. Congress and the courts are responsible for making and interpreting just laws, and they have failed to do so for decades now. Of course, copyright law isn't their only complete and utter failure - I've said much the same in regard to immigration law.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 27 2018, @04:03PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 27 2018, @04:03PM (#726960)

    So long as they remain unjust, I can have no respect for the law, nor for the people who made the laws.

    So the broken window theory is right: shitty laws like copyright cause disrespect for all other laws and the people who made them.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 27 2018, @04:42PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 27 2018, @04:42PM (#726984) Journal

      I don't know about " all other laws". A lot of traffic laws are contemptible, because they are designed to generate revenues, instead of making the highways safe. But, traffic laws in general are a "good thing", and we couldn't travel without them.

      Unfortunately, copyright laws have gone so far overboard, there is nothing left to respect. You, me, our kids, our friends - none of us get any good from the law. It's all lopsided, favoring the select few, and robbing from all the rest of us.

      Patent law is somewhat different. I think that basically, the laws, as written, retain some good. But, the law as practiced isn't the law as written. In point of fact, we have gamers gaming the system. Pharmaceuticals, especially. Medication "X" was approved for headaches years ago. The patent is about to run out. Suddenly Medication "X" is approved for a new application - foor pain. New patent issued. FFS, that's stupid! It's the same old medication that it always was, and it relieves pain. Nothing new - no patent is permissible. Except, pharmaceuticals have tons of money, so they can buy their patents, either directly or indirectly. Here, we just need to close some obvious loopholes, and patent law can (mostly) become respectable again.

      Oh yeah - put an end to software patents. Every bit of software should be covered by copyright, and nothing else. 14 years of protection, then it's public domain. There is zero point in renewing a copyright for 14 year old software - it's obsolete!