The End of Blogging?

Here's a quick one, go read this MyDD story and call your Senator to stop passage of this "Inducing Infringements of Copyrights Act." Even if it had nothing to do with bloggers, I'd be loudly protesting it. I used to work on a music/technology program, and I remember going to Washington for the Future of Music Conference. There, Sen. Orrin Hatch talked about his affinity for new technologies and their ability to revolutionize the music industry. Now he wants to hold technology companies responsible for any product they make that even ENCOURAGES piracy. So, if somebody uses Blogger to tell everybody about his Napster downloads, then Blogger can get sued? This would legislate speech, undermine previous decisions that allow technology to foster (like the Sony Betamax decision), and restrict innovation, ultimately harming the economy. Not to mention it's patently ridiculous. You can hold up a liquor store with a gun, but Smith & Wesson isn't held responsible.

Let's put an end to this nonsense and do what we can to stop this bill.