Remix.run Logo
▲ pessimizer an hour ago

RICO charges for copyright violation would be a good start, and would show that the government meant business.

The RICO statute explicitly mentions copyright violation (likely in order to go after media bootleggers), yet these people have admitted and evidence has been shown that as an organization they knowingly downloaded hundreds of thousands of books illegally in order to extract information to them to rent to the public. They knew they were doing this from the CEO down, knew it was against the law, and have settled in court for a massive fine. Why haven't they been charged?

I don't see the point of creating more dumb rules that won't be enforced, and slipping in new privileges and erosions of antitrust that will be enforced and indemnify them of any future consequences. I bet something in it will likely indemnify them retroactively for the RICO charge they are so obviously guilty of (whether or not the result of this copyright violation is considered "fair use.")

> (1) “racketeering activity” means [...](B) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of title 18, United States Code: [...], section 2319 (relating to criminal infringement of a copyright), [...]

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-96

▲lukewarm707 22 minutes ago | parent [-]

I would personally agree with RICO charges, but the main task is to simply start investigating and cross the bridge of the actual charges later.