According to the Associated Press, the law is meant to stop hackers who sell passwords in bulk, and was supported by record industry officials trying to curtail illegal music sharing.
This fleshes out an already standing law that stops people from stealing cable and also prevents dining and dashing. Tennessee will be the first state in the U.S. to have a law that includes the digital entertainment angle.
In practice, the law isn’t really focused on folks who share passwords with family members, but it could be used against those casual offenders as well. Such a scenario is unlikely — unless you’re sharing your password with your entire extended family. If services like Hulu, Netflix or Rhapsody feel that users are explo iting their services, however, they can turn to the law and press charges.
Stealing $500 or less of music/film consumption will be classified as a misdemeanor that could earn Tennessee citizens a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. Steal any more, and offenders could end up with a felony on their records.
What do you think of this law? Will it curtail piracy?
Image courtesy of Flickr, Valerie Everett
More About: Film, law, legal, music, netflix, tennessee
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