Don Henley Addresses Congress Over Copyright Laws

Don Henley spoke before Congress yesterday (June 2) in the hopes of changing the current copyright laws in the United States.

Per the Associated Press, Henley's testimony took place via video call before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. The subcommittee is meeting regarding a 1998 copyright law which "...allows holders of copyrighted material to formally ask parties they believe have taken their content without permission to remove it. The parties can dispute the claim. If they comply promptly with the request, there are no legal consequences. Otherwise, they may be subject to criminal penalties."

Henley noted the law is out-of-date with the current times and called it "a relic of a MySpace era in a TikTok world." Even when parties are sent notices to take down copyrighted content, Henley says "a dozen more [instences of infringement] pop up in its place"  and "still allows Big Tech to rake in revenue."

The next steps of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee are currently unknown, as is whether more artists will be stepping forward to speak on the current copyright law.