Japan prepares to imprison children for listening to music the wrong way. "illegal downloaders could be hit by penalties of up to two years in prison, or files that extended up to 2 million yen (£16,000). Unauthorised uploaders on the other hand, can expect to be hit with five times the punishment: up to ten years imprisonment."

  • http://www.socialmedia.biz/ JD Lasica

    Children are the future … of our inmate population.

  • Andy Reimer

    What happens if a million Japanese people turn themselves in?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=557683737 Adam Greenfield

    Where exactly are children mentioned in this article? Or beatings for that matter… 

    • travtastic

      Cory, I demand that every word here be a literal description of this article!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefan_e_jones/ Stefan Jones

    Spending on the incarceration of these IP-rights-flaunting scum  may be just the stimulus needed to lift Japan out of its decades-long economic doldrums.

    Not having them around to take care of their aging parents will also accelerate the development of elder-care-dispensing robots. Who can be repurposed as robot prison guards after “accidentally” offing slacking  mamma-sans.

  • artbyjcm

    Why in the world is japan being so freaking over-the-top about this? The RIAJ just freaking owns the place?

    For a single song? Will this stack for every song? Will a discography earn someone a life sentence? 

    Why would they let their tax dollars be wasted on jailing people for such a petty offense?

    • http://twitter.com/trempls tré

       ”Why would they let their tax dollars be wasted on jailing people for such a petty offense?”

      I think I hear the War on Some Drugs in the distance.

  • TefferMcG

    I suppose a prison term will allow them time to ‘grow up’

  • 〠

    I heard the new law being discussed last night on TBS Radio’s Dig. Apparently it was passed in just a week with no substantial debate by a House of Councilors populated with a good number of former entertainment industry members. This law will benefit no one, entertainment conglomerates included, but a tough-on-crime attitude, the power of  vested interests, and a relatively conformist IT culture made passing it a cinch.If there’s one thing to be said in the favor of the law it’s that people who “inadvertently” download files are not supposed to be prosecuted, but ultimately that too is a matter of prosecutorial discretion.

  • http://twitter.com/beep54orama B E Pratt

    If the past is any predictor,  we can soon watch the sale of music in Japan take a nosedive. Way to shoot yourselves in your collective feet.

  • http://codeflow.org/ Florian Bösch

    Yes, because we know that the best way to encourage people to buy stuff is to threaten, coerce and intimidate them, way to go.

  • Will Bueche

    Maybe they need to go further. For every song download, the RIAA will kill one Japanese citizen. 

    Remember the Twilight Zone-esque story in which a family is promised wealth if they press a button, but pressing the button will kill another family at random? And then they learn that every other family has also been given a button, and everyone is now living in terror? Everyone must hope and pray that everyone will abide by living in poverty and never press the button. Doesn’t that sound like the RIAA’s dream world? 

    When the RIAA dispatches its assasins, it could be you they kill. It could be your mother. It could be someone you’ve never met. The gamble, and the ethical dilemma, will be upon you every time you download a song. 

  • http://twitter.com/Jon_Wake Jon_Wake

    Really?  Really?  Downloading Bieber is analogous to rape or murder. Fucking clown shoes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Drop/100000929402049 Robert Drop

    Didn’t you know?  Youtube is the equivalent of the holocaust!

  • http://twitter.com/Jon_Wake Jon_Wake

    And Thingyverse is the equivalent to 9-11!