For decades, Matt Drudge’s website has been ground zero for breaking news, as reporters jockey for a coveted spot on the simple, yet elegantly designed magnet for newshounds. Now it appears that everything Matt Drudge has built is in danger:
Congress may update digital copyright law affecting aggregator sites, like the Drudge Report and Real Clear Politics, along with news sites in the near future.
“Two years ago, the House Judiciary Committee launched a comprehensive review of our nation’s copyright laws, which have not been updated since 1976. As technology continues to rapidly advance, we have a responsibility to ensure that our laws are keeping pace with these developments,” Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte said in a statement.
Since March of 2013, the House Judiciary Committee has conducted 20 hearings, which included testimony from 100 witnesses on the subject of copyright law in the digital age. The topics range from fair use to scope of copyright protection to music licensing.
Drudge is the gold standard of aggregation, and his site has revolutionized the way we share informatoin. Drudge, for his part, is extremely pessimistic. As Rudy Takala notes:
Matt Drudge of the influential Drudge Report expressed fears this month that reforms could lead to the shutdown of his website. “I had a Supreme Court Justice tell me it’s over for me,” Drudge told radio host Alex Jones. “They’ve got the votes now to enforce copyright law, you’re out of there. They’re going to make it so you can’t even use headlines,” he said.
“That will end [it] for me — fine — I’ve had a hell of a run,” Drudge added. He said the effect would be to push consumers into what he called corporate “ghettos” like Google, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
We will update this story as more information becomes available. This is bad news for every news consumer.
AAN Staff
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