I know I have commented enthusiastically about the RIAA before, and their ignorant, self-destructive, monopolistic efforts to control music. But you gotta give it to them. If yur gonna be an ass, you might as well be the biggest ass.
They’re joining everyone and their grandmother in trying to tack on riders to the anti-terrorism bills going through congres right now. These bills are scarey enough on their own, without the help of the big-three media companies.
They weren’t so much trying to add anything, as to grant themselves special exceptions. In this case, to make themselves immune to prosecution.
What are they afraid of being prosecuted for, that could possibly relate to terrorism? (Besides forcing people to listen to another Hanson album). The exemption they want involves a portion of the bill that classifys any hack on a computer that results in 5 grand or more of damages as an act of terrorism.
Why do they need to be exempt from this?
The only answer that has come up so far is that they literally want the ability to hack into individual’s computers in an effort to locate and destroy illegally distributed music. Or as this article puts it, “RIAA’s License to Virus”. And if they accidently destroy the contents of your hard drive while they’re at it? Well they wouldn’t have been legally liable.
RIAA: Judge, Jury, and Executioner
Bite my friggin ass.