A bill (<a href=““http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_2701-2750/ab_2735_bill_20040220_introduced.html”>AB 2735) introduced into the California state legislator would make unauthorized file sharing a crime, “punishable by a fine
not exceeding $2,500, imprisonment in a county jail for a period not
exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment for a
person who is not the copyright owner to knowingly electronically
disseminate a commercial recording or audiovisual work without
disclosing his or her true name and address, and the title of the
recording or audiovisual work.”
LA Times: Setting a Trap for Net Pirates
The Culver City Democrat is pushing a bill that would require California file sharers to attach their real names and addresses to the copyrighted goodies they let others download over networks like Kazaa and Morpheus.
Critics of the bill note that because the bill requires all file sharers to use their real name and address, regardless of the content of the files they share, it is probably an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment protections for anonymous speech.
EFF: California Bill Backed by Hollywood Attacks Internet Privacy
“These California anti-anonymity bills would force everyone – including children – to put their real names and addresses on all the files they trade, regardless of whether the files actually infringe copyrights,” said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. “Because the bills require Internet users to post personally identifying information, they fly directly in the face of policy goals and laws that prevent identity theft and spam and protect children and domestic violence victims.”
Ernest Miller: “True Name and Address” Bill for All Filesharers Introduced in Calif
Even worse, there is no exception for permission of the copyright holder. So, if I record a song and post it under a Creative Commons license that permits redistribution but reserves commercial use rights, you can go to jail for redistributing it. I mean, really, what more can be said about such an overbroad bill?
