AG Holder: Justice Should Be Able to Go After Some Illegal Streaming as Felony

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At a House Judiciary Committee Justice Department oversight hearing Wednesday, attorney general Eric Holder said that being able to classify illegal streaming as a felony, not just a misdemeanor, is necessary for the government to have in its toolkit.

Asked by Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) why Justice felt it needed that expanded power, Holder said that sometimes such streaming involves thousands and millions of dollars. He said that Justice wasn't looking to turn streaming from a misdemeanor to a crime, but that in some cases it needed that added power "consistent with the nature of the harm."

Register of copyrights Maria Pallante has also pushed for making streaming a felony.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.