Is CD Piracy a Matter for Homeland Security?

Several influential entertainment industry trade groups, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Screen Actors Guild, seem to think that the nation's security is at risk because of DVD and CD piracy.

Not so, says Pat Reilly, spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a department within the Department of Homeland Security.

Still, there's a question of whether the MPAA and RIAA are hogging up government resources for their own interests. The RIAA, has filed thousands of lawsuits against John Does, which often amount to woefully tiny settlements, if the lawsuits aren't ignored altogether. Further, some question the legality of the RIAA's legal tactics. In one complaint filed against music labels Sony, Electra, BMG and Motown, Shahanda Noelle Moursy argued that the record companies are "abusing the federal court judicial system for the purpose of waging a public relations and public threat campaign targeting digital file sharing activities."

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Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling