September 9, 2003
Beware the "amnesty."
Not only the Electronic Frontier Foundation but a Republican Senator, of all people, is cautioning against taking advantage of the RIAA's so-called "amnesty:" Senator Cautions Those Tempted By RIAA Amnesty Offer.
While Senator Coleman claims that the RIAA has "legitimate concerns" with respect to the "devastating economic impact of illegal file-sharing and copyright infringement" (which as far as I'm concerned is an incredibly gross overstatement at best), he is worried that they may be "abusing the broad-based subpoena authority it recently won in court to determine the extent of illegal file sharing in the U.S. and that its tactics may be creating 'anxiety and concern' among many Americans who are 'innocent or unknowingly guilty of violating copyright infringement laws.'"
Personally, I support the EFF's suggestion:
"Rather than demanding that 60 million people sharing music files turn themselves in with a so-called 'amnesty' program, the recording industry should take this opportunity to make file-sharing legal in exchange for a reasonable fee," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially since the RIAA doesn't control many potential sources of lawsuits."
This "amnesty" actually puts me in mind of the tactic Mao used in the early 1960's to stifle dissent, promising amnesty to critics when in actuality using the published criticisms to identify and round up those critical of his policies. It worked once in China, I guess the RIAA thinks that it will work again in the United States.