Record industry tells Congress to oppose Issa piracy bill

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) pressed lawmakers to oppose an online piracy bill offered by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) as an alternative to controversial legislation shelved by Congress last month.

The recording industry argues the Issa-Wyden bill should be scrapped because it would do nothing to stop online piracy and could even make the problem worse. RIAA's document outlines a number of concerns about the bill, labeling its standards "impossibly high" and "useless." "Even a site that openly acknowledges it is entirely composed of illegal material is exempt, as long as the material is added or used by others and not the site owner or operator," states the document. "This excuses willful blindness and outright complicity in illegal activity. In addition, anyone who takes down one illegal file is immune, even if it’s simply reposted minutes later."