EFF looking for petition signatures to stop the RIAA suits

taddzilla used our news submit to tell
us that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has put up a petition to send to
Congress. They have drafted a letter that will be presented as a petition of
protest and a request to be present in behalf of the public in any future
hearings "regarding the proper scope of copyright enforcement in the digital
age". The letter has been quoted below for you.

 To The United
States Congress:


We are the customers and former customers of the member labels of
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). We love music and
will gladly pay a fair price for it, but we are outraged by the RIAA's
tactics in suing ordinary Americans for filesharing.


We condemn the RIAA's choice to force the family of a 12 year-old
girl to forfeit $ 2,000 - money that could have gone to feed, clothe and
educate this honor student. We stand with the retirees, parents, children
and others who have been caught in the RIAA's line of fire.


We respect reasonable copyright law, but we strongly oppose
copyright enforcement that comes at the expense of privacy, due process
and fair application of the law.


We urge you, as our representatives in Congress, to stop this
madness.


We oppose the recording industry's decision to attack the public,
bankrupt its customers and offer false amnesty to those who would impugn
themselves. We call instead for a real amnesty: the development of a legal
alternative that preserves file-sharing technology while ensuring that
artists are fairly compensated.


In signing this petition, we formally request that the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF), as representatives of the public interest, be
included in any upcoming hearings regarding the proper scope of copyright
enforcement in the digital age.


We sincerely thank you for your time.


They go on to say that "Copyright law shouldn't
make criminals out of 60 million Americans, and it's time for a change. Congress
is going to hold hearings; we need your help to make sure that the public's
voice is heard. Tell Congress that it's time to stop the
madness!"


At the moment they have about 1700 signatures. However, they need 10,000. If
you would like to visit the site and veiw the petition form here is the
link. 

Source: eff.org

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