California’s SB550 would allow law enforcement to inspect optical disc manufacturing plants without warrants.

The RIAA and MPAA have had enough with piracy. Solution? Lobby the California legislators to pass SB550, which would provide law enforcement (FBI, police) with the necessary legal cover to inspect optical disc manufacturing plants without a warrant.

Why? Those in favor of the bill believe that disc manufacturers are burning pirated copies of DVDs and CDs during 2nd and 3rd shifts. Every serious person knows where pirated discs come from: China.

The bill provides for the following in Section 1, 21800 (a):

Every person who manufactures an optical disc for commercial purposes shall permanently mark each manufactured optical disc with an identification mark that identifies the name of the manufacturer and the state in which the optical disc was manufactured or, alternatively, a unique identifying code that will allow law enforcement personnel to determine the name of the manufacturer and the state in which the optical disc was manufactured.

Section 7, 21803 (a) reads, “Law enforcement officers are authorized to perform inspections at commercial optical disc manufacturing facilities to verify compliance with the provisions of this chapter.”  This would allow law enforcement to inventory all equipment, optical disc mold, any records, books, documents, as well as remove and detain any of the aforementioned without a search warrant.

And what is more, according to Sec. 7, 21803 (b):

No person shall evade, obstruct, or refuse any inspection requested or being carried out by a law enforcement officer to determine compliance with this chapter. The manufacturer, and the employees, servants, or agents of the manufacturer, shall cooperate during the course of the inspection

Which essentially means that no one can refuse entry, even though law enforcement needn’t bring a search warrant.  This is a key right granted by the 4th amendment and it would be suspended under SB550.

If, indeed, the plants are processing pirated discs in the wee hours of the morning, perhaps law enforcement could go about their business through established procedures: investigation and search warrants. No need to trample on the Constitution’s 4th amendment which guards against unwarranted search and seizure.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has tried to raise awareness on SB550, but this issue is largely unknown to the masses and its implications relatively ignored by national media.