Slashdot Mirror
File Trading Law Would Include 'Willing' Traders
mgessner writes "From InfoWorld comes a story on the U.S. House's approval of a new, tough law against trading files online. 'The bill expands the definition of file traders eligible for criminal penalties from individuals who 'willingly' distribute copyright files to those who 'knowingly' do so, an escalation that could result in jail time for file swappers.'" (The bill has yet to go through the Senate.)
Because we all know that passing laws to make, say, speeding in cars, murder, fraud etc. illegal has put an end to all those activities.
Yeah, all of these anti-P2P laws are starting to look a lot like prohibition era stuff. Everyone will keep doing it, they'll just be pushed more and more underground and out of site in order to do it. Hopefully this country will come to its senses and embrace the value of abundance, like it did in repealing the prohibition laws.
The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky