Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) released a draft of a “felony streaming” provision that he has proposed for inclusion in the Continuing Resolution must-pass government spending bill. His proposal would attach felony penalties to commercial platforms which are dedicated exclusively to streaming unlicensed works, have no commercially significant purpose or use other than streaming unlicensed works, or are marketed as such.
The following can be attributed to Meredith Rose, Senior Policy Counsel:
“As a general matter, we do not see the need for further criminal penalties for copyright infringement. However, this bill is narrowly tailored and avoids criminalizing users, who may do nothing more than click on a link, or upload a file. It also does not criminalize streamers who may include unlicensed works as part of their streams.
“We appreciate Senator Tillis’ decision to release the text of his proposal, and his leadership in bringing in consumer groups to the table, listening to our concerns, and working to prevent risk to end users and legitimate streamers and streaming platforms.”
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