LA Includes Piracy With Drugs, Gangs, Prostitution And Gambling As 'Detrimental To Public Health & Safety'

from the but-of-course dept

Thu, May 8th 2008 3:34pm — Mike Masnick

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

30 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Danny, 8 May 2008 @ 4:01pm

Well...
considering how the RIAA and MPAA will drag you through the mud I think they may be on to something.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 4:34pm

let's begin some thought experiments.

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 thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 4:41pm

USAA
We call them MAFIAA and they own the law.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kiba, 8 May 2008 @ 4:50pm

Irony
By corporations focusing on fighting piracy, they take away precious resources that can be used to fight new, smaller, innovative firms.

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 thread ]
I work for the RIAA, 8 May 2008 @ 4:56pm

I can see how it's on par with drugs, prostitution, and gambling, because like them piracy has been shown to help both organized crime and terrorism. This is just another example of you supporting terrorism so you can steal music.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kiba, 8 May 2008 @ 5:08pm

Re:
Do you have a link to back up your argument?

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 thread ]
Beefcake, 8 May 2008 @ 5:11pm

I'm with L.A. on this one
All those ships coming and going, with parrots and cannons and "YARR"s and clomping peg-legs and Johnny Depp and rum-soaked singing at all hours of the day and night. Must be a nightmare trying to live next to all that commotion.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Theoden, 8 May 2008 @ 5:12pm

Re: Re:
Check out http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/ag-mukasey-says.html

"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 thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 5:14pm

So when is the public going to get fed up with crooked politicians taking payouts from corporations for these bullshit laws?

When do we take back the country from the hands of these greedy leeches?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
some old guy, 8 May 2008 @ 5:31pm

It's the seagulls
The seagulls that follow those pirate ships around make an awful mess, they poop on EVERYTHING and are constantly dropping crabs on innocent peoples heads. Yes, by all means, evict the pirates, that will surely make the neighborhood a cleaner place.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Krak-Ho on mp3s, 8 May 2008 @ 5:53pm

I know what they mean
Every time I hear music that might be pirated I have the urge to break out the crackpipe, sacrifice babies to Satan, rob the nearest liquor store and join a gang. Don't even ask what I do when I see software that might be pirated.

"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 thread ]
Willton, 8 May 2008 @ 5:55pm

Re: Re:
Apparently Mr. Kiba has no sense of humor....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 6:03pm

Re:
Okay. Can you explain to me how, again, the piracy of music and movies supports terrorism? I'm really curious as to how you can possibly back up your argument.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bobby K, 8 May 2008 @ 6:48pm

Re:
@I work for the RIAA:
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 thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 7:06pm

gandhi, einstein said it best
non-participation, and nonviolent descent. dont participate in markets you dont believe in.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 7:06pm

and vote with your dollar!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2008 @ 8:28pm

welcome to the Peoples Republic of Kalifirnia
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PRMan, 8 May 2008 @ 8:33pm

That's just the message of the music...
>>Every time I hear music that might be pirated I have the urge to break out the crackpipe, sacrifice babies to Satan, rob the nearest liquor store and join a gang.

It has nothing to do with it being pirated, that's the message of most music these days...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Annalise, 8 May 2008 @ 8:39pm

This is why I hate LA
This is great, from the same bureaucratic morons who have publicly declared that LA does not have a problem with brown on black violence, and that Mexican gangbangers aren't targeting innocent black citizens as their victims for extermination and genocide.

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 thread ]
MLS, 8 May 2008 @ 9:00pm

"Feel Good" Ordinance
LA ordinance an excellent example of a feel good law with absolutely no teeth and no hope of ever being successfully applied. Federal statutes and case law pertaining to copyrights makes it abundantly clear that federal law trumps local ordinances where the claim under a local ordinance necessarily depends upon a finding of copyright infringement.

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 thread ]
colony, 9 May 2008 @ 3:03am

Re:
right on, tell it the way it is
[ link to this | view in thread ]
CMG, 9 May 2008 @ 4:23am

LoL
Drugs, Gangs, Prostitution And Gambling.

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 thread ]
Not the same guy., 9 May 2008 @ 5:05am

Easy
Because most pirates are foreigners (no matter where you live), and most terrorists are foreigners (no matter where you live); obviously, all the money being made by providing songs for free is going to foreigners, who must be terrorists since they hate Capitalism.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AJ, 9 May 2008 @ 5:10am

Not THAT much of a stretch!
Given that the record executives MUST be taking drugs for thinking they can give less for more money, their GANG of miscreants continue to acts as PIMPS for their forced-labor clients who PROSTITUTE themselves for the record labels, GAMBLING that the public will continue to put up with the s**t that the record industry foisters upon the consuming public. So, there must be a link to those with DRM somewhere, no?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Kurt, 9 May 2008 @ 5:40am

Law Propaganda
There's been a serious uptick in organized (and unorganized) crime's involvement in piracy. Just as gangs use drugs as a source of revenue, some are beginning to use piracy as a source of revenue. That's not too surprising, since serious commercial bootlegging operations can be very profitable.

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 thread ]
I work for the RIAA too!, 9 May 2008 @ 5:50am

Re:
Listen to us because we know what's best for you. Piracy is a disease that is responsible for Global Warming, the crisis in the Middle East, and erectile dysfunction.

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 thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 6:41am

> Downloading illegal music and movies is the new gateway to much worse drug and criminal use ......

NOT!

RIAA " Dee Dee Dee"

Hey Carlos! I used your "Dee Dee Dee", SUE ME!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
sonofdot, 9 May 2008 @ 6:53am

Re:
Yea, I bought five bootleg copies of Ironman from Osama bin Laden just last week.

What a load of bullshit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Enzomac, 10 May 2008 @ 10:13am

la and its pirates
This is great - does this mean that those caught pirating get free rehab from the courts like drug users?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course Blog Com, 10 May 2008 @ 8:45pm

One of the first things I advise computer consultants to do when they go into do an IT audit for small business clients is check the licenses on software. While software piracy is definitely not a problem that necessarily ranks up there in terms of dangerous consequences with prostitution, drugs, etc., it is a problem in its own right that, when done en masse can have a really negative impact on the business climate and the economy. Also, it can raise major security concerns, which are a big deal today where a lot of personal information is being transmitted via the Internet – credit cards, social security numbers, bank account information, etc. Plus, you never know what you are getting when you borrow or steal software. I think software piracy is definitely something to watch out for, especially for companies that want to compete with their competitors, stay secure and stay in business for the long term.
[ link to this | view in thread ]