California Governor signs Internet piracy bill

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: September 22, 2004 7:53:28 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] California Governor signs Internet piracy bill
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

 Governor signs Internet piracy bill
 E-mail address required to share movies, music online
 - Mark Martin, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
 Wednesday, September 22, 2004


Sacramento -- Aiding the industry that helped him gain worldwide fame,  
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday aimed at  
discouraging online piracy by requiring anyone disseminating movies or  
music on the Internet to disclose their e-mail address.

 California file sharers who trade songs or films without providing an  
e- mail address will be guilty of a misdemeanor, under the  
first-in-the-nation measure that could make it easier for law  
enforcement to track down people who illegally download copyrighted  
material.

 The bill is the latest attempt by film and music trade associations to  
combat the hard-to-police use of file-sharing software.

 The signing was hailed by the bill's sponsor, the Motion Picture  
Association of America, whose president, Dan Glickman, noted in a  
statement that Schwarzenegger had "a unique understanding of the  
powerful impact of piracy.''

 The governor remains a member of the Screen Actors Guild, which  
supported the bill.

 Opponents, including the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier  
Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, say the measure  
infringes on privacy rights of computer users and would turn casual  
file-sharers into criminals.

 The measure, SB1506, was carried by state Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los  
Angeles, at the behest of the Motion Picture Association of America,  
which says it loses $3.5 billion annually to piracy and is concerned  
that online trading of films is a burgeoning problem for them.

 Vans Stevenson, a senior vice president for the trade association,  
said the new law "will be another tool'' used to combat piracy. He said  
the group hoped to work with state and local law enforcement officials  
on enforcing the measure.

 Schwarzenegger did not comment on the signing.

 But he has made no secret of his opposition to the online sharing of  
copyrighted material. Last week he signed an executive order  
prohibiting state employees from using software designed for file  
sharing.

 In total, Schwarzenegger took action on 89 bills Tuesday.

 He signed AB890, by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Sherman Oaks, that  
requires donations of $1,000 or more made to a political party in the  
last days before an election be disclosed within 24 hours.

 It closes a loophole used by the GOP and 21st Century Insurance to  
secretly funnel nearly $1 million in last-minute contributions two  
years ago to Republican Assembly candidates in close races.

 The governor also signed AB1793, by Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San  
Francisco, which will require video game retailers to display signs  
notifying parents of the video game rating system.

 "The governor's signature is a clear sign that more needs to be done  
to keep these inappropriate games out of children's hands and give  
parents the tools they need to raise healthy kids," Yee said.

 The bill originally would have prohibited the sale of violent video  
games to minors, but that version was unable to get through the  
Legislature.

 Schwarzenegger vetoed AB858 by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los  
Angeles, which would have prohibited schools from using "redskin" as  
the mascot. Some Native Americans say the image is offensive.

 Schwarzenegger deemed the bill "silly" in a radio interview last week  
and said in his veto message that the decision should be made at the  
local level.

 "At a time when we should all be working together to increase the  
academic achievement of all California's students, adding another  
nonacademic state administrative requirement for schools to comply with  
takes more focus away from getting kids to learn at the highest  
levels," he said.

 Schwarzenegger also vetoed a bill that would have mandated sending  
juvenile parolees who are caught in a nonviolent drug offense to drug  
treatment rather than back into confinement with the California Youth  
Authority.

 The governor said SB519, by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara,  
would apply to juveniles who had been convicted of a violent offense,  
and therefore may not be best placed in drug treatment programs.

 E-mail the writers at markmartin () sfchronicle com or  
lgledhill () sfchronicle com.

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