Editorial: Cover all the bases

As the controversial “enhanced” pat-downs unveiled last week at U.S. airports prompt… As the controversial “enhanced” pat-downs unveiled last week at U.S. airports prompt travelers to re-examine how much of their physical property they want the government handling, Americans are now having to make the same decision regarding their intellectual property.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would give the Department of Justice the power to quickly shut down websites suspected of hosting pirated material. The bill, the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, would grant the DOJ the ability to seek expedited court orders that require domestic domain name registrars to shut down suspected sites. After the committee’s approval, the bill will now be considered by the full Senate.

According to The Hill, industry groups like the Motion Picture Association of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Recording Industry Association of America have pushed for the COICA’s passage. MPAA President Bob Pisano lauded the bill’s targeting of “rogue” websites.

While such illegitimate sites clearly lurk about the Web and while COICA tries to address worthy problems, not everyone was as quick as Pisano to jump on board – nor should they be.

The day the Judiciary Committee decision was announced Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., vowed to block the bill, saying it was the “wrong medicine” for addressing copyright infringement, according to PCWorld. “Deploying this statute to combat online copyright infringement seems almost like using a bunker-bursting bomb, when what you need is a precision-guided missile,” Wyden said during a hearing.

Since individual senators can place holds on legislation, Wyden’s opposition will likely kill the bill for the remainder of the session, but that doesn’t mean the newly elected Congress taking over Washington in January won’t turn COICA into law. So we’re afraid of what January will bring.

Don’t get us wrong, copyright holders deserve their property respected – though we’re not too afraid “Lady Gag Gag” the sex doll will deprive Lady Gaga the artist of her livelihood. Surely it’s a basic element of a democratic society for a government to protect citizens against would-be thieves of intellectual property, but it’s equally democratic to practice due process of law.

We agree with Wyden’s position, that the powers the bill grants the DOJ are too broad and too liable for abuse. Improperly obtained content pervades the Internet, but even sites containing infringing materials have free speech-protected content. We’re afraid that the “expedited” nature of warrant issuing will soon amount to a dangerous form of digital censorship and that the term “rogue” actually has broad application. So before Congress commits millions of taxpayer dollars to such a radical content crackdown, we hope lawmakers consider alternative solutions.

For one, instead of going after an entire website for small infringements, why not have the DOJ bureaucracy issue warnings to the site administrators and give them deadlines for proving the content in question was properly vetted?

Whatever solution is picked — and this intellectual property issue clearly needs one — the government should cover all the bases; it’s the same service they’re providing air travelers, anyway.