Senate bill makes illegal Internet streaming a felony

Those who illegally stream live video or audio over the Internet could face up to five years in prison under legislation recently introduced to the U.S. Senate.Ars Technica reported that Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Christopher Coons (D-DE) proposed a bill last week that would make "illegal streaming" of copyrighted content a felony.Under current law, copyright infringement already carries felony penalties, but questions have been raised about whether broadcasting audio or video live over the Internet could be considered the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works.

Streaming content has been considered a "public performance" rather than "distribution."Two months ago, a report published by the White House's Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator urged Congress to make illegal streaming of content a felony and allow law enforcement to wiretap those suspected of being involved in copyright infringement.

The report called on Congress "to ensure that and U.S. law enforcement agencies are able to effectively combat infringement involving new technology" by clarifying that streaming unauthorized audio or video is a felony.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/17/senate-bill-makes-illegal-internet-streaming-a-felony/

can someone please explain this to me, does this mean you can't stream the news/

This is crazy. How do we know what Internet radio is doing at the source side?

I should copyright that phrase ...

If it's your news program, you can stream it all you like. In fact, whatever the content, you can stream it, as long as you own it or have an agreed-to right to stream it. If the content is not yours and you don't have an agreement that allows you to stream it, it's illegal to stream it.

It's all pretty simple, really. All that's changed is the designation of the crime you commit if you break the law. They're just changing a definition.

Intellectual property belongs to its owner, who has the right to determine how it will be published. That's the core of the copyright laws. If you don't own it, and it's protected by copyright, you do not have the right to publish it unless you have permission to do so. How hard is that to understand?

As far as I understand, this would apply only to the act of sending out the stream, not receiving it. That's something else.