As reported by Boing Boing and News.com, the Senate has approved the PIRATE Act which will give federal prosecutors the power to file civil lawsuits against people who may be infringing copyright law. News.com provides a typical quote from the ever-clueless Senator, Orrin Hatch:
One influential backer of the Pirate Act has been urging an avalanche of civil suits. “Tens of thousands of continuing civil enforcement actions might be needed to generate the necessary deterrence,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said when announcing his support for the bill. “I doubt that any nongovernmental organization has the resources or moral authority to pursue such a campaign.”
Perhaps it’s me, but I could have sworn that Republicans were supposed to be supporters of free trade and against government interference in the markets and individual rights… They also used to be for smaller government – another pro in my book. I wonder how much government of our money will be spent on civil lawsuits meant to protect an industry that hasn’t figured out that they need to shift their business model. While, Senator Hatch has to give his Media handlers something for their money, one would hope that he would at the very least recognize that he is supposed to be representing people before corporations. Check out his introduction to the “Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act” if you have a bit of time.
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