LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Our strange digital lives have lawmakers thinking about creating a law we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago.
You might say it’s “A Whole New World.”* If you’re already mad just thinking about it, “Let it Go.”*
Believe it or not, Disney soundtracks are being “weaponized” to stop YouTubers from sharing videos. The game goes like this: If you want to stop someone from putting a recording on YouTube, blast some Disney tunes. That will cause all sorts of copyright problems when the video hits YouTube, and ruin the opportunity for a YouTuber to profit from the video. Understand now?
“You’re Welcome.”*
The Nevada Legislature’s introduction to this has come through Senate Bill 362 (SB362) — a bill that mainly focuses on law enforcement and the new awareness surrounding the phrase “I can’t breathe” — the words said by George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. They continued to act aggressively as Floyd pleaded, and he eventually died. The bulk of SB362 deals with requiring officers to get immediate medical attention in similar cases.
Metro police support the bill, and point out that department policy already requires getting help for someone in medical distress.
The section of the bill on copyright is separate from that. The bill has already been approved in the Senate and was presented to the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Specifically, Section 2 of SB362 is aimed at preventing law enforcement from playing copyrighted music so that video of officers — whether bodycam video or recorded by a witness — won’t be disseminated on social media.
“To my knowledge, we don’t have any documented instances here in Nevada,” intellectual property rights lawyer Caleb Green told lawmakers. Green presented Section 2 of the bill from the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas.
Assemblywoman Venicia Considine (D-Las Vegas) said she Googled more information about the issue. She asked if Disney or other companies that aggressively enforce copyright infringement could use the Nevada law to go after people.
Green responded that current copyright already allows that. But he talked about how copyright is selectively enforced.
“Copyright’s kind of like the speed limit, right? We all break it sometimes. Sometimes with consequences, and sometimes you don’t,” Green said.
“A lot of the incidences that we’re seeing around police encounters are being uploaded to Facebook or Instagram. TikTok, right? The music is an overlay,” Sen. Dina Neal (D-Las Vegas) said. “This music doesn’t belong to me, and it’s pulled down.”
Green pointed out that Disney isn’t alone in copyright enforcement.
“There’s a Taylor Swift incident. Others with country music. It’s not just particularly Disney music. These tools can detect a large range of copyright protected works,” Green said.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social media sites have their own policies, he said. “Some have a three-strike policy. Three strikes, you’re out, we’re going to ban or suspend your account.”
Could the bill apply to more than just law enforcement officers? That could get into free speech issues, Considine said.
Green said Section 2 of the bill is narrowly tailored to law enforcement, and requiring a policy for officers is different than making rules for the public.
*–“A Whole New World” is a popular song from the “Aladdin” soundtrack. “Let it Go” is from “Frozen” and “You’re Welcome” is from “Moana” … all Disney movies.
