June 27, 2022

Dear elected officials:

This letter represents official support from the New York City musicians’ union (AFM Local 802) for the SMART Copyright Act of 2022 (S.3880) as well as any future efforts along similar lines, including companion legislation.

Content creators like our musicians and others in the field have suffered for at least 20 years from a catastrophic loss of income and theft of intellectual property due to illegal piracy and copyright violation.

The SMART Copyright Act is the latest effort to attack this problem and we support it in the strongest possible terms. The act would “hold big tech accountable by encouraging them to adopt technical measures to combat stealing and facilitate sharing of critical copyright data.”

Senator Leahy’s statement is succinct and to the point: “The technology exists to protect against this theft; we just need online platforms to use the technology.” We couldn’t agree more.

We direct you to a summary of the act and a myth vs. fact page that we find very helpful in understanding the act.

Let’s be very clear. Copyright theft is illegal and unethical. It enriches Big Tech while hurting musicians and other content creators. It’s within the power of Congress to solve this problem, and the SMART Copyright Act is one crucial step on this road.

Please support the SMART Copyright Act of 2022 and any future efforts that will protect musicians and other content creators.

Sincerely,

Chief of Staff Mikael Elsila for AFM Local 802 President Tino Gagliardi