Congress Cracks Down on Filesharing With Two New Bills

Congress is stepping up to the plate for the record industry in their battle against peer-to-peer file-sharing.

Reuters is reporting that House Representatives have sent a multi-facited copyright protection bill to committee this week and that the Senate is introducing a bill that will authorize the Department of Justice to pursue illegal file-sharers in civil courts. Essentially, this would take the onus off of the RIAA and move it into federal hands. Both bills are being supported by both Republicans and Democrats and are expected to pass.

The main provision in the House bill gives prosecutors the ability to pursue uploaders of copyrighted files as felons, since just one upload meets the legal threshold for a felony - one copy could be made available to millions, so the 1000 copy/$10,000 minimum is automatically surpassed. Repeat offenders could face up to ten years in jail, plus fines.

The Senate bill allows the Department of Justice to pursue file-sharers civilly, rather than criminally, since criminal copyright violations are more difficult to prove.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., co-sponsor of the Senate bill, called the current situation "an intolerable predicament."

For the full story, visit the Reuters article here.