The MPAA will try anything to fight against piracy

Nov 3, 2014 10:23 GMT  ·  By

It seems like the ideas of budget pumping of the Hungarian government, namely to introduce an Internet tax has given the MPAA some new ideas on how to fight against piracy. What it likely did not notice was that the street protests over several days have pushed the Hungarian government to back down and quit trying to tax Internet users.

Not only does the MPAA try to get lawmakers to consider such a tax, but it also lobbies against net neutrality, TorrentFreak reveals.

The MPAA has been shelling millions upon millions for years, trying to get lawmakers in Washington to agree to whatever antipiracy measures they’re trying to push down people’s throats. Its agenda has now grown, however, to include two topics that will surely enrage Internet users.

According to the MPAA’s most recent lobbying disclosure form, there are several new focus topics. One of them is the Internet tax, a controversial topic. While the Hungarian government has just tried to implement such a tax, in the United States there’s been a ban that is scheduled to expire this year.

The ban has been up for a decade, and there are plans to expand it once more, but the approvals have yet to move through. The MPAA has made it pretty clear what its position is and it hopes to achieve a new tool to fight against online piracy. After all, if people will have to pay for each gigabyte they use, they’ll be less likely to pirate content, right? While that may be true, they won’t even be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, or any other legal alternative. Even YouTube, where most content is free, would take a toll on people’s monthly bills.

This goes to show that Hollywood has no intention whatsoever to try to create a proper online distribution platform for a low cost that would give people access to content where and when they want it.

How net neutrality can ruin MPAA's plans

Another thing that MPAA wants is the demise of net neutrality. While the representatives of the Hollywood movie studios haven’t exactly been vocal about their plans during the net neutrality debate, they have been silently lobbying against the concept.

They believe that this could make it difficult to use deep packet inspection, filtering and fingerprinting techniques, which help them prevent piracy.

The MPAA also has a bone to pick with Internet service providers. Hollywood wants these companies to be liable for the things their customers do online. This might be connected to the possible revision of the DMCA where online services can’t turn a blind eye when it comes to piracy.

While the MPAA doesn’t exactly put its opinion in writing, it’s pretty clear which direction they swing and where their interests lie.