Republican US Senator Thom Tillis has introduced a bill that would make copyright violations on Twitch or YouTube a crime. This means that Twitch streamers could face hefty fines and even prison sentences. However, there is a lot of criticism regarding the bill.
What happened? As part of a “must pass” bill – legislation that is important to keep Congress functioning – various measures were bundled that could be discussed and passed by Congress.
One part of it is the demand that commercial streaming of copyrighted content becomes a felony instead of a misdemeanor, as it has been so far. Examples were specifically cited such as:
- an album on YouTube
- a video clip on Twitch
- or a song in an Instagram story
The proposal includes hefty fines and possible prison sentences.
Twitch is already in the crosshairs of the music industry. They complained that the platform is not doing enough to combat the illegal use of music. Such a law could even worsen the situation regarding the so-called “DMCA strikes”.
Already, thousands of streamers have deleted all their clips containing protected music.
What else is in the proposal? In addition to the proposal regarding the crime of copyright infringement, the bill has been bundled with further amendments.
These include the CASE Act, which would establish a new court-like entity for copyright violations, as well as the Trademark Modernization Act, which aims to give the US Patent Office more flexibility.
Will the law pass? On Wednesday, December 9, Parliament passed a bill that ensures the Congress remains functional until December 18. Until then, discussions will continue on this draft as well as other packages.
Criticism of the proposal and the senator himself
What were the reactions? According to Protocol, a Politico affiliate, a group of 18 organizations, including tech trade associations, advocacy groups, and library associations, spoke out against this proposal (via Torrentfreak):
As creators, innovators, small businesses, online service providers, libraries, educators, and civil society organizations, we are engaged in including controversial copyright or trademark laws into a “must-pass” bill.
We respect the intention of Congress to improve our intellectual property system and protect the rights of creators and entrepreneurs. However, certain aspects of this legislative package will have negative impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises, creators, libraries and their supporters, students, teachers, educational institutions, religious organizations, fan communities, internet users, and freedom of expression… We urge you to reject the inclusion of this legislative package in the funding bill.
Katharine Trendacosta, Associate Director of Policy and activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said:
A law on criminal streaming would likely restrict freedom of expression. We already see that it is difficult enough for people to assert their rights just through civil copyright and the DMCA. The possibility of a felony would impede both development and innovation.
Criticism of the senator: As The American Prospect reports, Senator Thom Tillis is said to have received campaign support of over $100,000 from companies like Sony Pictures, Universal Music Group, Salem Media Group, and Warner Music in recent years.
All of these companies could benefit from a change in legislation as proposed by the senator.
The law passed, but was altered
Update 22.12: The US Congress has passed the legislative package that included Senator Thom Tillis’s proposal (via kotaku). The package was enacted, among other things, to initiate aid measures against the effects of the Corona pandemic. This includes expenditures of $2.3 billion.
The bill from Tillis, “The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act,” is actually included in this package but has been altered to specifically target operators of illegal streaming services and not individual Twitch streamers or YouTubers.
Operators of such platforms can then receive prison sentences of up to 10 years under the new legislation.
