US to jail downloaders

The US Congress has passed legislation that would increase the penalties for those who illegally downloaded internet files. Under the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act 2005, courts would have the power to impose a five-year sentence on first-time offenders who have infringed copyright law by offering a bootleg copy of a movie on a file-sharing website before its commercial release. A US$250,000 fine can also be imposed. The same punishment is prescribed for anyone who posts a pre-release digital copy of a new music recording on the internet.