We Weren't Really Expecting Any Fresh Thinking About 'Online Piracy' From Obama, Were We?

"This is a fundamental issue of America's economic competitiveness," Locke said of online piracy on Monday.

​Commerce secretary Gary Locke issued a harsh condemnation of so-called music piracy in a speech in Nashville Monday. We'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that Locke seemed to reaffirm the established music industry's view of the Internet as a pesky little thing that gets in the way of Proper Commerce.

"At the Commerce Department, we are trying to figure out how we shut out the pirates, while preserving the Internet as an avenue for commerce for music and for other creative industries," Locke said, according to Wired.

Locke's speech indicates that we can expect the administration not to challenge the state of copyright law in this country, or challenge the views of the recording industry. (Note that Locke even called out "streaming" as being a "constant challenge" for the music industry.) But I guess that's what we can expect from an administration that appoints former RIAA lawyers to key posts.

As one Wired commenter cracked regarding Locke's speech: "If you look really closely, you can practically see the RIAA hand up his ass, making him talk."

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