Illegal Streaming Would Become a Felony If COVID-19 Relief Bill Passes

The new stimulus bill includes a number of strange, seemingly out-of-place provisions, including some relating to the entertainment industry. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new bill would make illegal streaming for commercial profit a felony offense. The bill might also make it easier for copyright holders to take legal action against those who view their works for free.

The stimulus bill includes a proposal from North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, which he first released less than two weeks ago. It is meant to go after "commercial platforms which are dedicated exclusively to streaming unlicensed works, have no commercially significant purpose or use other than streaming unlicensed works, or are marketed as such." This means that the bill is meant to charge website operators with felonies, not individual users.

In a statement to PublicKnowledge.org, counselor Meredith Rose wrote: "This bill is narrowly tailored and avoids criminalizing users, who may do nothing more than click on a link, or upload a file. It also does not criminalize streamers who may include unlicensed works as part of their streams."

Still, as THR's report points out, the bill has only been circulating for a matter of days, and was not thoroughly vetted by other lawmakers for all the potential interpretations it could have. The passage of Tillis' proposal could have unforeseen impacts in the increasingly complicated online media ecosystem.

Additionally, Tillis' bill appears to order the creation of a "small claims adjudication system within the U.S. Copyright Office." This means that copyright owners would have a new way of pursuing legal action against infringement without going through the slow and costly federal court system. This measure has drawn more criticism, as some fear it gives too much power to "unaccountable bureaucrats working for an agency suspected of favoring industry."

This latter provision may even be unconstitutional by some interpretations, but if applied, it would theoretically lead to unlicensed material being taken down from the internet faster. It previously passed in the House of Representatives before being blocked in the United States Senate.

Finally, the spending bill also extends a tax credit for TV and film productions during the coronavirus crisis, which was passed in the spring. It allows up to $15 million deductions in production costs immediately, and has now been extended for five years. When the dust clears, the entertainment industry may have gotten a huge boon from this stimulus bill.