We all know how the movie industry and the music industry love nothing better than to make people who for whatever reason pirate music and movies out to be the worst thing since Atilla the Hun. Sure there might be a small section who do pirate digital goods for immense profit but the reality is that in most cases it is just kids or people who might not be able to afford those end products in the first place.

Through their wannabe police proxies otherwise known as the RIAA and MPAA the entertainment industry has; and continues to strong arm influence governments around the world. However not happy with this the industry is now looking to local governments on a state by state level. As reported by David Kravets on the Threat Level blog the MPAA and RIAA has been heavily involved with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in crafting new local laws that will declare music and video piracy as a public nuisance.

As innocent as that might sound that classification; which also includes drugs, gangs, prostitution and gambling, in fact allows them a very large leeway in how these so-called evil perpetrators are dealt with. From the Treat Level blog:

In an ordinance just adopted, the five-member board is declaring that piracy “substantially interferes with the interest of the public in the quality of life and community peace, lawful commerce in the county, property values, and is detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the county’s citizens, its businesses and its visitors.”

The regulation was crafted at the urging of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.

The county retains the right to shutter a property for up to a year for violating ordinance 13.90.010 and also gives local authorities the right to bring a civil action to “temporarily restrain, preliminarily enjoin, and/or permanently enjoin the person or persons intentionally conducting, or knowingly maintaining or permitting the public nuisance from further conducting, maintaining, or permitting such a public nuisance.”

Property owners who knowingly permit such activity can also be dinged $1,000 for each counterfeited work produced on the property.

Now tell me that this sits right with the average citizen. To bad we’re all so wrapped up in nonsense like Web 2.0 and don’t seem to care one bit as more and more of our liberties and rights are being corrupted by industries that are more interested in their bottom line than anything else.

Conversation Tags: piracy, RIAA, MPAA, Los Angeles