The United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organisation's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (er, UNWIPOSCCRR?) is seriously pushing through a treaty that will regulate the Internet transmission of audio and video entertainment.
The move has not come from China or other countries that like to censor material but from the United States.
Under the proposed treaty, cable companies, radio stations, and Webcasting operators would essentially take over the rights to control material broadcast over the Internet.
So if a politician made a fool of themselves in front of the BBC cameras, any reference to that incident would have to be cleared by the Beeb first. This would include any comment, fair use of footage or criticism.
The treaty demands that countries signed to the agreement would have to enforce the implementation of DRM like the proposed Broadcast Flag, which is so unpopular with the tech industry that even Intel hates it.
We can see why the RIAA and MPAA and the television companies are keen to see the UN adopt it, in fact according many industry insiders they are the main backers of it.
Story source:
theinquirer.net.
