The US Puts Imprisonment on Illegal Streaming

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The large package of covid-19 measures that President Trump just approved for the US also includes many other laws that impact technology, including one on streaming and extensive copyright law.

The covid-19 ‘stimulus bill’, the package of measures US politicians have been arguing about for several months, was signed by President Trump after several days of resistance.

Most notable is a one-time $ 600 support check for each American. Still, the package itself is five thousand pages long and includes a slew of measures and laws, some of which have little to do with corona alleviating poverty.

This package includes, for example, the ‘Protecting Lawful Streaming Act’, a law that must protect streaming services. Thus, the illegal streaming of content becomes a federal crime, which is under investigation by the FBI and may come with prison terms. At the moment there are mainly fines.

This law does not seem to target consumers who ‘share’ their Netflix subscription with friends, but it does put prison sentences on streaming pirated content for profit.

This concerns, for example, websites that rebroadcast sports matches without permission or commercial services that broadcast films without having bought the rights for them.

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