Uncle Sugar is Back, Baby, Because That’s Where the Money Is
Eric “Uncle Sugar” Schmidt is back in town and is finding a trough for every snout.
Category: Google Lobbying
This is the Only Question for the Next Head of the Copyright Office
At some point in the coming days, there will be an announcement for the new head of the U.S. Copyright Office. I fully expect that everyone will have their litmus test for whether the new person (called the “Register” for historical reasons that have probably outlived their usefulness) should be appointed. The fact is that […]
The Royal Scam: Content ID and Google’s Massive Profits From Piracy and Crime
If Congress wants to fix the DMCA, Congress needs to fix Google’s scam operations, too.
Dirty Data: Google’s Embarrassing #ClimateStrike Charm Offensive is a Lesson in Propaganda
As any journalist can tell you (probably off the record), Google’s press police hammers the message of the day very aggressively. We have a perfect example of those Googlely antics with their latest charm offensive on new data centers in Europe. Here’s the headline from The Street, which is very likely actual reporting on the story: […]
Victory in Europe: The Two Years War over the Copyright Directive has Begun
If you’ve heard about the new copyright law in Europe, you’ve probably heard that the new rules with either break the Internet or bring Big Tech to heel. I’d suggest neither proposition is true because Big Tech has absolutely no intention of complying with the law unless they are made to.
An Insult to the Heart: Lobbyists Organize Big Tech Rallies in Europe
Big Tech’s lobbyists organize rallies for surveillance capitalists in the ancient capitals of Europe “pulling the wires which control the public mind.”
The First Rule of Lawfare: Is Google’s Active Measures Campaign on Article 13 a Trial Run for Election Meddling by a US Non-State Actor?
Members of the European Parliament need to get a grip on these active measures campaigns before Google goes beyond “lobbying” on an issue vote and moves on to meddling in campaign outcomes in a few months when the European Parliament stands for election.
In a post-Cambridge Analytica world, we all know it’s a short step from undermining opposition on a particular issue to undermining the election of a particular candidate. And Google is just as capable of meddling as any state actor if not more so.
Truth Will Out! @digitalmusicnws: Surprise! The ‘Music Modernization Act’ Prohibits Litigation Against Streaming Services [With New Even Safer Harbor Power Play] — Artist Rights Watch
[Editor Charlie sez: You’ve all probably gotten mass emails full of glittering generalities about the controversial Music Modernization Act that don’t tell you what the bill actually says. Well…you’ve been Sneekyfy-ed! More News from the Goolag on the latest government taking from the lobbyists to follow!]
Will Congress Bring Songwriters a Lump of Coal or Justice?
It is axiomatic that as government expands, liberty contracts. Songwriters are among the most highly regulated workers in America, so on the continuum of liberty, guess where songwriters score? Most people are surprised by that unadulterated, and rather bleak, fact. After all, songwriters don’t make anything toxic or build in places they shouldn’t or dump chemicals in a waterway. Songwriters don’t have monopoly power. Songwriters don’t even get to set their own prices—the government largely does that in a very expensive and Kafka-esque process.
The MTP Podcast: Michelle Lewis and Kay Hanley of SONA and David Lowery on DOJ’s “Union Busting” Gambit Against Songwriters
In an explosive conversation, Michelle Lewis and Kay Hanley talk with David Lowery and Chris Castle about Songwriters of North America, their experiences with lawyers from the Department of Justice Antitrust Division in the lead-up to the DOJ’s decision on “100% licensing,” and disingenuous behavior by the government’s lawyers that crossed the line into “union busting.”
Music Technology Policy 
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