DOJ: Make Unauthorized Streaming a Felony

The Justice Department continues to press the Congress to clarify that Internet streaming can be prosecuted as a felony and not just a misdemeanor.

Felony prosecution would mean larger penalties, and DOJ argues, better deterrence to online pirates.

In testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, David Bitkower, acting deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division at the US Department of Justice, pointed out that bandwidth devoted to streaming unauthorized content had increased 470% between 2010 and 2012.