Public Knowledge Disappointed With White House ‘Piracy’ Meeting
Public Knowledge Disappointed With White House ‘Piracy’ Meeting
Public Knowledge Disappointed With White House ‘Piracy’ Meeting

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    The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and
    co-founder of Public Knowledge:

    “We were extremely disappointed to learn of the White House meeting
    to be held later today on the issue of intellectual property and
    ‘piracy.’ It is unclear why three cabinet officers, several
    subcabinet officers, the directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
    and the U.S. Secret Service are needed to tend to the worries of the big
    media companies, particularly the motion picture industry which is
    completing a year in which it will set box-office records.

    “Although the meeting with Vice President Biden purports to bring
    together ‘all of the stakeholders to discuss ways to combat piracy
    in this rapidly changing technological age,’ some stakeholders are
    noticeably missing. Many representatives of media companies will be
    there. No consumer or public-interest groups, technology companies,
    technology associations or Internet Service Providers are on the guest
    list. No one who questions the need for Draconian governmental policies
    on behalf of the privileged special interest group for whom this meeting
    is being held is on the guest list.

    “If Vice President Biden is truly interested in learning more about
    intellectual property, we hope he will continue his consultations with a
    group of people who share a wider range of views than those with whom he
    will meet today.

    “We also question the propriety of having Attorney General Eric
    Holder attend a meeting with top officials of NBC when it is quite
    possible the Department of Justice will have to rule on NBC’s
    unprecedented merger with Comcast which would combine those two media
    giants.”

    The White House announcement, with entire guest list, is here:
    http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/wh-advisory-20091214.pdf

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.