Thursday, January 20, 2005

California proposal jolts Felten

Ed Felten was shocked to find that the latest proposal to regulate P2P networks by California would make him a candidate for the slammer.

"Kevin Murray, a California legislator, has introduced a bill that would fine, or imprison for up to one year, any person who "sells, offers for sale, advertises, distributes, disseminates, provides, or otherwise makes available" software that allows users to connect to networks that can share files, unless that person takes "reasonable care" to ensure that the software is not used illegally. TechDirt argues that my TinyP2P program would violate the proposed law.

Actually, the bill would appear to apply to a wide range of general-purpose software:

"[P]eer-to-peer file sharing software" means software that once installed and launched, enables the user to connect his or her computer to a network of other computers on which the users of these computers have made available recording or audiovisual works for electronic dissemination to other users who are connected to the network. When a transaction is complete, the user has an identical copy of the file on his or her computer and may also then disseminate the file to other users connected to the network.

That definition clearly includes the web, and the Internet itself, so that any software that enabled a user to connect to the Internet would be covered. And note that it's not just the author or seller of the software who is at risk, but also any advertiser or distributor. Would TechDirt be committing a crime by linking to my TinyP2P page? Would my ISP be committing a crime by hosting my site?"

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