The Florida legislature is currently considering two bills, HB 271 and SB 604 (otherwise known as the True Origin of Digital Goods Act), and they’re problematic. Why? The bills would essentially require website owners and operators that provide commercial streaming services to place on their website personal identifying information such as their true name, address, etc. If a website owner or operator violates the law, then the website may be subject to a take down.
The bills are intended to help curb online piracy. However, all it would do is threaten free speech online. The bills would also compromise the seamless operation of the Internet by allowing websites to be removed from the Internet outside normal channels. It’s important to mention that the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act already addresses the issues these bills seek to address.
