Group Hug

Google’s logo today June 6 is an animation celebrating the drive-in theater, but the Motion Picture Association of America used it as an opportunity to urge Google to come back to the table on content-protection legislation.In a blog posting MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd said he loved the animation, but added that protecting film and TV content “takes more than just a gorgeous piece of animation….It’s discouraging to hear Google executives say they “have done as much as they possibly can” when in fact the theft of American products around the world is rampant - and often facilitated by their search engine.”

Google was one of the driving forces behind an effort that eventually derailed the bipartisan Stop Online Protection Act (SOPA) in the House and Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate.

“[L]et’s hug it out,” says Dodd, and get back to the table. “It is long past time to develop a meaningful, collaborative solution to a problem that protects American workers and consumers while also protecting a secure internet.”

Calls for hugs and table talk notwithstanding, legislation is highly unlikely before the election and the next Congress.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.