The House Judiciary Committee is ramping up efforts to modernize copyright laws for the digital age, in a move that Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report believes could spell the end of his news-linking website.
“Two years ago, the House Judiciary Committee launched a comprehensive review of our nation’s copyright laws, which have not been updated since 1976. As technology continues to rapidly advance, we have a responsibility to ensure that our laws are keeping pace with these developments,” House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement on Tuesday.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2574118/
“The committee is traveling to locations across America to hear directly from creators and innovators about the challenges they face in their creative fields and what changes are needed to ensure U.S. copyright law reflects the digital age in which we live,” the statement added. Committee members will travel to Silicon Valley on Nov. 9 and Los Angeles on Nov. 10 to hold meetings on potential reforms.
Matt Drudge of the influential Drudge Report expressed fears this month that reforms could lead to the shutdown of his website. “I had a Supreme Court Justice tell me it’s over for me,” Drudge told radio host Alex Jones. “They’ve got the votes now to enforce copyright law, you’re out of there. They’re going to make it so you can’t even use headlines,” he said.
“That will end [it] for me — fine — I’ve had a hell of a run,” Drudge added. He said the effect would be to push consumers into what he called corporate “ghettos” like Google, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The topics the committee will review include music licensing and fair use laws, among others. Linking to online content would fall under fair use. The committee says it has held 20 hearings on reforming the law since 2013.
