Big Content rips into Google, the "corporate imperialist"

[The Straight Story]

Big Content rips into Google, the "corporate imperialist"

The knives are out for Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. Within hours of making comments to UK media during a press conference, major US rightsholders attempted to brand Google as an arrogant, out-of-control company bent on ruining American creativity and thinking itself above US law.

The Guardian transcribed a few of Schmidt's remarks on Internet blacklists. "If there is a law that requires DNSes to do 'x' and it's passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President of the United States and we disagree with it then we would still fight it," he said at one point, apparently expressing opposition to the PROTECT IP Act recently introduced in the Senate. Any such system would be used as pretext for countries like China to engage in much more repressive website blocking.

That set off entertainment execs. Take it away, MPAA's Michael O'Leary:

Is Eric Schmidt really suggesting that if Congress passes a law and President Obama signs it, Google wouldn’t follow it? As an American company respected around the world, it’s unfortunate that, at least according to its executive chairman’s comments, Google seems to think it’s above America’s laws. We’ve heard this "but the law doesn’t apply to me" argument before—but usually, it comes from content thieves, not a Fortune 500 company. Google should know better. And the notion that China would use a bi-partisan, narrowly tailored bill as a pretext for censorship is laughable, as Google knows, China does what China does.

The RIAA asked whether "the head of a multi-billion dollar leading American company openly suggesting they would defy the will of Congress AND the President?" A spokesperson added, "This is baffling. As a legitimate company, Google has a responsibility to not benefit from criminal activity. In substance and spirit, this contradicts the recent testimony of Google's General Counsel that the company takes copyright theft seriously and was willing to step up to the plate in a cooperative and serious way."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/big-content-rips-into-google-the-corporate-imperialist.ars

[ixion]

1. RIAA and the MPAA can both go to hell.

end of discussion.

For these two industries, both of them built on the backs of the artists they exploited over the decades, to claim the they are somehow better than Google is a laugh beyond laughter.

[mikehiggins]

2. A corporation that considers itself above US law?

I'm shocked, I tell you! Shocked!

Don't these bozos have any clue as to how stupid they look when they make statements like RIAA's?

Apparently not.

[TheKentuckian]

3. Sign me up for another Android!