New Bill Could Make Streaming a Felony

For a long time now, Twitch and other streaming sites have reckoned with the fact that ultimately, they're broadcasting countless streams full of copyrights, and not every copyright holder is okay with that. DMC takedowns are not uncommon in the world of streaming, but no matter how often some companies may complain, in the eyes of the law, breaking copyright has only ever been a misdemeanor -- generally only punishable with a fine.

But Republican senator Thom Tillis plans to change that, as he's just introduced a bill that would make commercial, unauthorized streaming of copyrighted material a felony. That's a capital "F" felony, which means in theory, people could wind up going to jail for many years for hosting an Among Us stream.

Needless to say, a bill like this would likely be the death knell for services like Twitch, and it would undoubtedly hit platforms like YouTube pretty hard. Katharine Trendacosta, associate director of policy and activism with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, had this to say:

“A felony streaming bill would likely be a chill on expression. We already see that it’s hard enough in just civil copyright and the DMCA for people to feel comfortable asserting their rights. The chance of a felony would impact both expression and innovation.”

Tillis's motivations aren't hard to figure out: The American Prospect points out that he has raked in over $100,000 in campaign contributions from major music producers, like Sony and Universal, who are currently cracking down on Twitch streamers using their music without permission. This could be seen as an extension -- and a killing blow -- in this industry-wide crusade.

That said, the odds of such a bill passing seems pretty low to me: historically, these kind of sweeping and oppressive attempts to censor art haven't done well in the house or senate, and both sides of the isle have seemed hesitant in the past to really formalize any severe opposition to artistic integrity in the country. That's not to say it's not possible to pass, but between the powerful groups that'll be opposing it and public sentiment, I'm not terribly worried yet.

But it'll probably be 2021 before the issue is debated in earnest.