Digital Home Thoughts: Digital Media and the Law

I've been following a few stories lately with great interest. Where I live, in the great state of New York, Democratic Assembly Joseph Lentol has proposed a bill which would make it a felony to sell a game to a minor which contained "depraved violence or indecent images". In other words, nearly any mature-rated game on the market. It would be a greater offense for the clerk to sell Halo 3 to a minor than it would be if the kid stole it. The RIAA is pushing for longer jail terms for people who share files than for rapists. Meanwhile amateur photographers are having their work ripped off, and the government is doing little if anything to protect their intellectual property. For years we've been talking about the DMCA and the subsequent loss of fair use rights. What does it all add up to?

Money. The politicians are after more political funds, so they can get re-elected. The various "save kids from video games" bills out there now are nothing more than a publicity stunt. Unfortunately, one that may lead some pimple nosed 19 year old video game store clerk to three years in jail, followed by a life spent trying to get away from a felony conviction. (By the way, all of these bills leave out the people most responsible for the actions of minors: parents.) Major corporations are nickle and diming consumers every time they want to view or move content they've already rightfully paid for (and the law backs them up). The little guy gets his or her pictures ripped off and reprinted, and ends up with no royalties, and no real way to fight the bastards who are taking them for a ride. Meanwhile the very website which failed to protect their photos now censors their comments about the situation.

It's a sad state of affairs. The digital media revolution is in full swing, and the law is tripping and falling over itself trying to keep up. Give me your thoughts: how do we fix this mess?