MPAA and RIAA ask Congress for permission to commit fraud

The HP “pretexting” scandal was publicized in such a way as to make people think it was a new problem, and required new legislation.  Apparently it didn’t occur to anyone that the very term “pretexting” is a euphemism to disguise the nature of the act, which is actually “fraud.”  Fraud is defined by Wiktionary as “an act of deception carried out for the purpose of unfair, undeserved, and/or unlawful gain, esp. financial gain.”  For instance, it is unfair and undeserved for HP to get their board member’s personal telephone records by paying someone to call the phone company pretending to be that board member.

Now that Congress is considering specific “pretexting” legislation, the LA Times reports that the MPAA and RIAA are asking to be exempted from it.  In other words, they are asking Congress for permission to commit fraud.  [via Slashdot and The Inquirer]