'Pirate Act' raises civil rights concerns

[Bombardier]

File swappers concerned about getting in trouble with record labels over illegal downloads may soon have a major new worry: the U.S. Department of Justice.

A proposal that the Senate may vote on as early as next week would let federal prosecutors file civil lawsuits against suspected copyright infringers, with fines reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The so-called Pirate Act is raising alarms among copyright lawyers and lobbyists for peer-to-peer firms, who have been eyeing the recording industry's lawsuits against thousands of peer-to-peer users with trepidation. The Justice Department, they say, could be far more ambitious.

http://news.com.com/%27Pirate+Act%27+raise...l?tag=nefd.lede

[Bombardier]

But not one peer-to-peer criminal prosecution has taken place in the United States. The Justice Department has indicated that it won't target peer-to-peer networks for two reasons: Imprisoning file-swapping teens on felony charges isn't the department's top priority, and it's always difficult to make criminal charges stick.

Let's hope it's not a top priority! :rolleyes:

It should be more than obvious that on the grand scale of priorities concerning the DOJ, people trading music on the internet for nonprofit purposes isn't exactly terrorism!

[Redneck4sure]

You would have a difficult time proving that a specific individual was the guilty party using the connection. In a civil suit you just have to prove that their connection was used. At my house there are several ppl that use the net. I may liable in a civil court for what happens on this connection but I don't see me going to jail because someone else used it for whatever.

[slum_goddess]

on the grand scale of priorities concerning the DOJ, people trading music on the internet for nonprofit purposes isn't exactly terrorism!

yeah and a few years ago, speaking your mind wasn't labelled 'unpatriotic' either.