It can be tempting to think that the entire Internet world is a libertarian’s dream. That willing transactions can happen without government interference. Here’s the problem. Intellectual property rights still exist (in most countries). And although the Internet has the appearance of only living in the ether, servers are real, and cable wires are real. And the ones that reside in the U.S. are, according to Federal Law, under U.S. law.
Perhaps that’s why last week, U.S. prosecutors seized 10 popular television streaming websites that were being used to illegally stream live sports broadcasts and cable programming. This is always going to be a tricky topic. If I take a video of my family and our TV is in the background, can I post that video? Probably. What if the camera is pointing mostly at the TV, and not too much at my family? Well…
Expect a “we know it when we see it” rationale for future Web seizures in the future. And expect a revolt from cheapskate teenagers along with freedom of information activists.