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Plan To Run Anti-Google Smear Campaign Revealed In MPAA Emails
vivaoporto writes: Techdirt reports on a plan to run an anti-Google smear campaign via the Today Show and the WSJ discovered in MPAA emails. Despite the resistance of the Hollywood studios to comply with the subpoenas obtained by Google concerning their relationship with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (whose investigation of the company appeared to actually be run by the MPAA and the studios themselves) one of the few emails that Google have been able to get access to so far was revealed this Thursday in a filling. It's an email between the MPAA and two of Jim Hood's top lawyers in the Mississippi AG's office, discussing the big plan to "hurt" Google.
The lawyers from Hood's office flat out admit that they're expecting the MPAA and the major studios to have its media arms run a coordinated propaganda campaign of bogus anti-Google stories. One email reads: "Media: We want to make sure that the media is at the NAAG meeting. We propose working with MPAA (Vans), Comcast, and NewsCorp (Bill Guidera) to see about working with a PR firm to create an attack on Google (and others who are resisting AG efforts to address online piracy). This PR firm can be funded through a nonprofit dedicated to IP issues. The "live buys" should be available for the media to see, followed by a segment the next day on the Today Show (David green can help with this). After the Today Show segment, you want to have a large investor of Google (George can help us determine that) come forward and say that Google needs to change its behavior/demand reform. Next, you want NewsCorp to develop and place an editorial in the WSJ emphasizing that Google's stock will lose value in the face of a sustained attack by AGs and noting some of the possible causes of action we have developed."
As Google notes in its legal filing about this email, the "plan" states that if this effort fails, then the next step will be to file the subpoena (technically a CID or "civil investigatory demand") on Google, written by the MPAA but signed by Hood. This makes it pretty clear that the MPAA, studios and Hood were working hand in hand in all of this and that the subpoena had no legitimate purpose behind it, but rather was the final step in a coordinated media campaign to pressure Google to change the way its search engine works.
The lawyers from Hood's office flat out admit that they're expecting the MPAA and the major studios to have its media arms run a coordinated propaganda campaign of bogus anti-Google stories. One email reads: "Media: We want to make sure that the media is at the NAAG meeting. We propose working with MPAA (Vans), Comcast, and NewsCorp (Bill Guidera) to see about working with a PR firm to create an attack on Google (and others who are resisting AG efforts to address online piracy). This PR firm can be funded through a nonprofit dedicated to IP issues. The "live buys" should be available for the media to see, followed by a segment the next day on the Today Show (David green can help with this). After the Today Show segment, you want to have a large investor of Google (George can help us determine that) come forward and say that Google needs to change its behavior/demand reform. Next, you want NewsCorp to develop and place an editorial in the WSJ emphasizing that Google's stock will lose value in the face of a sustained attack by AGs and noting some of the possible causes of action we have developed."
As Google notes in its legal filing about this email, the "plan" states that if this effort fails, then the next step will be to file the subpoena (technically a CID or "civil investigatory demand") on Google, written by the MPAA but signed by Hood. This makes it pretty clear that the MPAA, studios and Hood were working hand in hand in all of this and that the subpoena had no legitimate purpose behind it, but rather was the final step in a coordinated media campaign to pressure Google to change the way its search engine works.
This is so out of character for the MPAA and its allies, I am utterly shocked that they would stoop to using such underhanded tactics! ...said no-one ever.
And yet, you failed.
You'll have to do it again if you want to succeed.
Just want to know. Maybe if we chip in, we could get one that works for us for a change.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
There is a size limit to corporations, beyond which they can't be controlled, and if they fail it brings down the whole country. It is in the national interest to keep corporations below that size limit. This should be discussed, nationally. If only we could convince the huge multi-national corporations that control our news industry to allow it.
I wish I could be shocked at this behavior but this is standard operating procedure in America. The government has long been owned by the corporations, stuff like this just removes all doubt. The AG is conspiring openly to wipe out billions of dollars in Google's market value and for most of America this will merit a "ho-hum". The copyright mafia is out of control, writing their own laws and then conspiring with law enforcement to destroy their rivals. Something should be done but nothing will, as long as political campaigns are funded by corporate donations the political class will do their bidding. I guess Google just hasn't been giving the appropriate bribes.
Enigma
No matter how outdated you are, you have to protect the family business. These big content distribution moguls are all up in arms about the fact that content distribution is trivially easy now. What would you do if you had a multi-billion dollar business built around doing something that became trivially easy to do? Start breaking some knee caps of course!
They've been operating in the grey area of the law for half a century. It's only a matter of time until MPAA/RIAA and their constituents get tried under RICO statutes.
MPAA: Why is Netflix and all other streaming sites no longer a top link at Google?
Google: Ooooops! Hehe...
systemd is not an init system. It's a GNU replacement.
This AG is already (in)famous for his use of obviously flawed forensic testimony to convict innocent people - even in death penalty cases.
"When they own the information, they can bend it all they want." - John Mayer, "Waiting On The World To Change"
There are a lot of very powerful interest groups that want to gain control of the information flowing over the Internet. That would, I think, be a terrible blow to the advancement of the human race, and a slide back into oligarchy.
And also, this concept of local government officials - chieftains - working as fronts for very specific interest groups is troubling. It's commonly seen in DC where lobbyists write sections of laws which apply to themselves or competitors. Also on Wall Street where financial companies can direct prosecution (e.g. Aleynikov) as well as write law. This kind of behavior is a dereliction of duty, and should be treated as such.
This is definitely grounds for impeachment and dismissal, followed by criminal charges.
I'm shocked these kinds of emails linger around and don't get deleted, or at least PGP encrypted.
Interesting. I'm currently checking the WSJ archives to make sure this article didn't get written; if it did, I'll be cancelling my sub immediately.
but what are we going to do about it? We're too diverse and too different. Nothing in the pot actually melts. There are also way too many single issue voters. The Gun Lobby, Gay Rights, Abortion, Cuba (it screws with our presidential election). These things bring folks to the polls to vote and they don't care about economic issues economic issues (which at it's heart this MPAA flap really is).
The reason Germany & the Icelandic countries are doing so well is they're united. Their working class has solidarity. Things are looking up a little. Gay Rights is more or less done. The Left is dropping gun control and Obama opened up Cuba. But looking at crap like this shows me they're just as good at dividing and manipulating us as every...
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Two more decades with big media, and the word will no longer be in active use.
when that old spoiled meatbag Rupert Murdoch dies.
Because its even worse in other countries?
I did a search for information about Mississippi and all that came up was a couple of web sites with crappy mobile homes and pickup trucks on cinder blocks.
Have gnu, will travel.
Re:Vast left-wing conspiracies exist
You're gonna need better bait...
Damaging the creditability of an evil megacorp like Google is like damaging the creditability of Darth Vader---in actuality, it only makes them stronger.
Using 'The Daily Show' to smear someone/thing? I thought that program was just entertainment, on a Comedy channel.
https://i.imgur.com/ess6W8Q.jp...
You are welcome on my lawn.
Do tell us more about how Mississippi is left-wing.
"Revealed in a filling"?
I guess Google wasn't exaggerating when they said getting disclosure from the MPAA was like pulling teeth...
What kind of lawyer is dumb enough to leave evidence like this? It doesn't make sense.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Anyone who pooh poohed the notion that the IRS has been turned into a political weapon, you only have to look here to see the process in action. Those in power will use every available lever to get at their enemies. The only thing that will curb this kind of abuse is not just to fire them, but prosecute and imprison them.
Isn't stock manipulation illegal? Also, Google shareholders should be able to sue them out of existence for even contemplating such a stupid and irrational move.
Also WSJ, that liberal rag.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of world MAFIAA actually imagines. I prefer to assume it's somehow coherent given how much they must have invested into developing this obviously wrong philosophy. Now the question: suppose they actually succeeded and Google went bankrupt. Given that their goal right now is obviously to harm they way we look for information, is there any other system they propose in place of the current one?
The state employee lawyers involved are not working in the public interest. Their actions clearly cross ethical lines (big surprise given their profession). Perhaps if their behavior crosses legal lines, they will be disbarred.
I've heard of spies concealing cyanide in their teeth, but I never imagined the MPAA would resort to similar tactics to hide information.
... oh wait.
I knew I needed to stop reading Slashdot and finish my PhD when I started to miss articles by Bennett Haselton.
I don't doubt that such methods are routinely practised by corporations in other areas. For instance: United Launch Alliance creating a stealth PR campaign against the upstart SpaceX, as exhibited by this hopelessly biased hit piece; or established auto companies creating a stealth PR campaign against the upstart Tesla or other electric cars as exhibited in the overemphasis of Tesla battery fires; or the propagation of the myth that the hybrid Toyota Prius is worse for the environment than a Hummer (I heard that one repeated from an engineering professor friend of mine recently). The biggest one of all is the continued campaign against the entire field of climate science in order to prevent action on climate change, action that would with certainty reduce the revenues and power of fossil fuel companies.
The MPAA was inept in allowing this email to surface. Most other companies who engage in such corrupt actions would not allow such incriminating evidence to surface, or even to exist. Seeing this email lifts the veil on the behaviour of one organization. But it seems to me that such behaviour is likely widespread. I am of the opinion that what can be done by corporations will be done, if it increases their overall profits and power. If a corporation can pay for newspaper articles to increase their power (and get away with it), then they will. If they can pay posters to write messages on Disqus (or on Slashdot for that matter), then they will. If they can purchase powerful politicians, either by direct payment or by offering of employment after the politician leaves office, then they will. This is not paranoia. It is an hypothesis that is supported both by logic and by evidence. If they can do that which benefits them, then they will.
The MPAA seems so blindingly and stupidly evil they might just go ahead and run this campaign anyway, just change it up a bit. Or just claim Google is making all of this up, and sue them to suppress these emails as potentially fabricated.
This was revealed in the Sony emails.
The only thing you have on your mind is you hate seeing a black guy, or as you are really thinking, a n-----r in the White House.
So I'm going to ask you my rhetorical question: Do you keep your KKK robes in the closet where they won't get wrinkled but someone might see them, or do you fold them up and put them in a drawer where they will get wrinkled but it's less likely that people will see them.
Why is Snark Required?
How is this 1) legal, 2) accepted? Doesn't this directly fall under false advertising?
Here in Denmark, smear campaigns generally don't happen. You do not talk bad about other people or products - you instead talk about what you're doing better. And if you do smear competitors, you will lose face in the public eye.
It seems that in the US, that's entirely opposite. So bizarre.
Atty Gen Hood and Peter King need to both get flushed.
And here you are doing a great job at proving his point. Any critique of President Obama or his policies is instantly attacked with YEAH BUT YOU'RE A RACIST
It's usually largely in the hands of organized crime, and has been since the Nixon-Kennedy election
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Exhibit 1: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2179098/ag-mpaa-emails.pdf
There is collusion between the Mississippi AG and the MPAA. They are trying to interfere with Google's business. Google is involved in interstate commerce (duh). So there's a RICO case right there.
Anybody can initiate a RICO prosecution. The DOJ can always join the case if it wants to. Or not. In this situation there is a lot of disincentive for the DOJ to join: a large number of DOJ attorneys are planning on going to work for entities like the MPAA (lobbyists) and the recording/film industries when finish their relatively low paying stints with the government. Having the DOJ go after their future employers does not fit in with their personal plans.
Still, it would be highly amusing to watch Google go after the MPAA for conspiracy. That would make headlines outside of Slashdot. Ultimately I doubt it will happen. Even though they are more then willing to fight dirty, there is a higher level pact between big companies: don't do things that will reveal to the general population just how corrupt the system is. If people ever realize just how badly they are routinely screwed by the government/business complex, they might stop being sheep and start paying attention. That could be a disaster for big business. So it is really not likely to happen.
Why is Snark Required?
Really? Given Google's cash on hand?
Should Google be compelled to stop listing illegal streaming sites? Or pay out from the ad revenue they accrue from returning the illegal streaming sites? Because we all know the RIAA has only the artists in mind. But still ... really? Go up against Google? With lawyers? Page throws a billion dollars on the desk and says "do what you gotta do". Boom. The jury finds the defendant much much better funded than the old school music biz gangsters in geriatric suits.
You're right about our 2 party system. But it was designed for that. Our entire constitution was written to protect wealthy landowners from the working class. That's why we have a senate, it prevents populist movements from taking off :(. About the only times we've ever seen any reason progress have been when one of the 1% broke ranks (FDR) and after WWII when too many workers had died off and when we were the only country left with working infrastructure...
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Is all that stuff about Google not being "diverse enough" also part of the smear campaign?
... is one who, once bought, stays bought.
linquendum tondere
...really seems like a guy who should be in a prison, in the general population, where his asshole and mouth will be reamed on a daily basis.
That man is the poster child for corruption
who even gives a shit anymore right? what's the point of having a legal system when everything is so corrupt?
Sorry, what? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you failing to frist psod, filthy casual.
- What's that you say? Googling your upcoming blockbuster doesn't return any results? We could sell you advertising space? No? Oh, now you want people to find pages with information about your movies?
- Googling 'MPAA' returns only news stories about pedophiles? That's unfortunate, but you know neural networks, right, never know what they do, can't explain it.
- Googling your name returns images for what now? Oh, dear. Have you tried enabling safe search?
Stealing copyrighted material is wrong, but this seems just as bad, if not worse. Shame on you MPAA. Shame on you AG. Second thing - corporations do the bidding of the people that run them (CEO, share-holders, etc), so corporations are not the problem, greedy people are.
How does the public not know that Google works for and with the NSA in everything that they do!???
And yet there is no mention in the article of an investigation of Hood for disbarment and possible imprisonment due to obvious corruption. Who says crime doesn't pay.
Not disappointed in the number of posters sharing with us that they ANAL.
Hmm... How hard would it be to fabricate an email chain like that and leave it around for the white hats to find it?
To say that Google engages in interstate commerce is a bit of an understatement. Sure as hell sounds to me like this AG is trying to regulate what has become a major channel for interstate commerce, thereby exceeding the hell out his authority and violating the f- out of the Constitution.
This is the equivalent of a small petulant child poking a very large bear with a pointy stick... I am pretty sure what the end result would be.
Nothing would make my day more than seeing the MPAA get mauled publicly.
If you're going to write an article about the "MPAA," at least tell people WTF it stands for.
Ah yes, Google refuses to censor the Internet in the interest of corporate america. Let's devalue their stock for not being Big Brother for us. WTF?!