I recently posted a link to a story which suggsted that the MPAA had bought itself California Attorney General Bill Lockyer after Lockyer introduced proposed legislation which was written by an MPAA employee. Well, now it appears that the MPAA and RIAA have bought themselves a pair of senators. Senators Patrick Leahy and Orrin Hatch have introduced a bill which would make distributing files on peer to peer (P2P) networks illegal, punishable by fines or jailtime.
Why would they do this? Well, “So far in 2004, Leahy has received $178,000 in campaign contributions from the entertainment industries — the second-biggest source of donations to Leahy behind lawyers. Hatch has received $152,360.” Sounds to me like the MPAA and RIAA have successfully bought the services of a couple of lawmakers!