IP Democracy: Telcos Sympathize with MPAA, RIAA Anti-Piracy Efforts

(Washington, DC) The U.S. phone industry is sympathetic to the pursuit of anti-piracy policies by Hollywood and the record industry, the head of the industry's main trade association said today. Speaking at a Media Institute lunch, US Telecom CEO Walter McCormick was asked about the record industry's recent stepped-up pressure on ISPs to help labels ferret out music pirates, a tactic that mirrors Hollywood's own efforts to get broadband providers to identify customers' sharing of unauthorized content.

"There is a commonality of philosophy between the entertainment industry and our industry," McCormick said. They all share a common belief that rightsholders should get compensated for their work. But McCormick stopped short of saying that his members would actually agree to serve as traffic cops for the entertainment industry.

Most of McCormick's speech (PDF) before the crowd of lobbyists and attorneys focused on the main goal of The Media Institute: protecting free speech. Today's phone companies are as much a part of the media as any other communications outlet, he said. "Media means more than newspapers, broadcasting and cable."

More importantly, broadband technology "is improving our democratic process" by revolutionizing how candidates run for office, as evidence by the hotly contested race for the Democratic presidential nomination. The billions of dollars invested in the broadband infrastructure are responsible for the unprecedented amount of new forms of political communications, McCormick said. "It is the private sector that is bringing the very public benefits of broadband."

Of course his main point is that government regulation could harm this thriving new world. "We should avoid the risks of unnecessary regulation," McCormick Said.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on May 14, 2008 5:27 PM to IP Democracy