LA Includes Piracy With Drugs, Gangs, Prostitution And Gambling As 'Detrimental To Public Health & Safety'
from the but-of-course dept
Various laws have allowed local governments to declare specific property "detrimental to public health & safety" when that property becomes overrun with drugs, gangs, prostitution or gambling. However, the entertainment industry's hometown gov't in Los Angeles has now expanded the list to include music and movie piracy as well. Whatever you think of unauthorized copying of content, it's difficult to see how you can, with a straight face, claim that it is the equivalent of property being overrun with drugs, gangs prostitution or gambling.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: drugs, gambling, gangs, health and safety, los angeles, piracy, prostititution
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Well...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
most educated economists will tell you that prohibition leads to crime, violence, and decreases safety. http://www.mises.org/story/2270 so if all these things are detrimental to society, the only logical, rational thing to do is legalize them all.
who is most likely to currently provide a household with drugs, that cause overdose? the pharmacy.
how can we get rid of gang violence? legalize them, turn them into city militia protecting civilians.
legalizing prostitution leads to health benefits, and an increase in safety. heck they should be getting health care and child care.
its the same rational with guns. banning guns makes people less safe. if every kid was taught gun safety and proper use in school, would there be nearly as many accidents?
prohibition is to blame for the dangers of meth and heroin. http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/81793/?page=entire
this boneheaded political policy to ban things only accomplishes one thing. reelection. they use "for the kids" and scare statistics, which amount to terrorism to make parents think the streets are becoming safer.
psychology tells us that as the laws get stricter, we are more likely to become obedient (millgram) and that the cops will get meaner (zimbardo - standford prison experiment) is that the society you want to raise kids in, one with more sheep, and meaner wolves?
like i said above the ONLY SANE RATIONAL THING TO DO IS LEGALIZE EVERYTHING, and educate the populous as best, and truthfully as possible.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
USAA
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Irony
These firms, smart enough to avoid the "war on piracy" mines will have easier time to grow into gigantic competitor that will be the nightmare of RIAA and MPAA and any other DRM embracing firms.
Stronger effort will simply yield even a gloomier future.
Anti-piracy efforts is a seed of firms' own destruction and for competitors, a blessing.
Ironic.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
In any case, your bosses' wars on piracy have afforded other firms many chances over to captures your bosses' market share plus more even if piracy funded terrorism.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
"Attorney General Michael Mukasey talked tough on intellectual property crime, telling Silicon Valley executives here Friday that the theft of their inventions poses a threat to the nation's "health and safety" and fosters terrorism."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Easy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
No. I think we just stopped buying your stuff because it sucks. Besides, when you cut out entertainment expenses, it becomes easy to afford a week trip overseas! In November, the 8 of us are going to Japan for two weeks!
"Just Say No" to drugs, gangs, and Hollywood Content, and say "Yes" to relaxing vacations.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If you want to steal music then you hate America and Heterosexuality. You probably leave the toilet seat up, sit too long when the traffic light has turned green, and molest farm animals.
People of America be warned! Internet Pirates will steal your music, and when that no longer satisfies them they will start stealing your children.
You pirates make me sick. I can't wait for it to be legal to hunt you all for sport so this will be a respectable country again.
BTW, the New Kids On The Block are getting back together, their music touches my soul, so please buy their new album. Twice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
What a load of bullshit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I'm with L.A. on this one
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
When do we take back the country from the hands of these greedy leeches?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's the seagulls
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I know what they mean
"The RIAA and MPAA are always right." Thats the mantra that gets me through those tough spots. Thank all the deities that they're here to protect my soul.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
gandhi, einstein said it best
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That's just the message of the music...
It has nothing to do with it being pirated, that's the message of most music these days...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is why I hate LA
Isn't it strange that the FEDS have recently successfully prosecuted these same Mexican hoodlums for targeted hate crimes against blacks, ensuring that when the state lets them go, they'll serve the rest of their lives in Federal prison, but the local Chief of Police (William Bratton) goes on TV and blathers that there is no crisis of brown on black violence in this city.
But we'll gather up scarce city resources to prosecute copyright infringers. Yahoo, way to go, city leaders.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"Feel Good" Ordinance
The signing of the ordinance likely created a wonderful photo-op and made political contributors in the music and movie industries quite happy. Beyond that the ordinance is generally meaningless words on paper.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
LoL
Sure, Piracy got me in hospital with an overdose and gunshot wounds from a gang attack. Piracy also gave me AIDs and crabs. Piracy also lost me all my money to a casino.
Woe is me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Not THAT much of a stretch!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Law Propaganda
That's the connection this law is trying to make. The problem, though, is that all those other things--drugs, prostitution, etc--are probably "detrimental to public health and safety" independent of the criminal organizations they thrive in.
Unless they've got hard stats showing serious and unavoidable secondary effects around centers of piracy (for example, if gangs start making it a habit to conduct armed raids of rival gangs' piracy operations, leading to shoot-outs and bloodshed), they don't seem to have much of a legitimate leg to stand on.
This isn't law, this is propaganda.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
NOT!
RIAA " Dee Dee Dee"
Hey Carlos! I used your "Dee Dee Dee", SUE ME!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
la and its pirates
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]