Webcaster Alliance Blasts Proposed RIAA-Friendly Legislation

The Webcaster Alliance intends to fight proposed legislation that would expand the Recording Industry Association of America’s antitrust exemption.
The announcement is in response to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch’s recent introduction of the Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003, a bill that broadens the antitrust exemption the RIAA currently enjoys to cover all compulsory mechanical licenses under section 115 of the Copyright Act.
The current exemption has been in place since 1995. Hatch has described the measure as “fostering flexibility, certainty, and accountability.”
The alliance sees it as a way for the RIAA to stifle the growth of independent music and control Internet content and distribution channels, according to Webcaster Alliance President Ann Gabriel.