[solaris]

There are already a ton of lobbying/industry groups out there that push "anti-piracy" campaigns. You've got the RIAA, MPAA, BSA and ESA, each covering different industry segments.

Then, of course, a year ago, a bunch of entertainment industry companies got together and put together the ridiculous Copyright Alliance, whose main mission in life seems to be to spew utterly false propaganda in favor of stronger copyrights at every turn.

But, apparently, that just wasn't enough. So, word came out this week of a new anti-piracy lobbying 'super group' with the innocuous sounding name "Arts+Labs."

The big difference here? Well, the entertainment companies convinced a few tech companies to join up as well: AT&T, Microsoft and Cisco. AT&T, of course, has been drifting towards filtering its network - and Cisco wants to sell filtering equipment.

Microsoft, of course, has always been vocally against "piracy" even while quietly admitting how much piracy benefits the company.

Full story here: Techdirt: Because There Aren't Enough Anti-Piracy Lobbying Groups...