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billypenn.com: A new bill from Philly City Councilman Mark Squilla would require owners of nightclubs, cabarets, bars and restaurants in the city to collect the names, addresses, and phone numbers of entertainers — bands, rappers and DJs — in a registry, and to share that personal information with police upon request.
This proposed bill is both very concerning and clearly had little logical thought put into its planning. At the surface level, the idea of police control over who gets to perform seems like a daunting foray into “Big Brother” territory of police-state control. America already has a serious problem with policing, and it is the type of thinking that is behind this bill that causes many of the issues. The idea that approving live performances is a job for the police department is outlandish. Also, as is pointed out in the article, the required provision of phone numbers and addresses isn’t only rude, it’s creepy. Performers have very little “private life” once they hit fame, so requiring personal information from them breaches what little privacy they have left. When a performer is booked to do a show, it is done through a manager or agent because that is how these professional engagements are handled. The personal contact information of the performers is usually not involved because that is not a necessary or appropriate component of the process. It is scary to think that elected officials think these measures are necessary and suitable. If Philly wants to implement this bill, they can expect to see a dramatic decrease in live performances, a negative effect on their economy. Artists simply aren’t going to put up with this type of thing when there are tons of cities who will welcome them.
This bill is completely ridiculous, even the very premise that the police department has any job whatsoever in controlling or gathering information on what law abiding citizens are performing where and when is absolutely insane. The scariest part is the idea that this is designed to identify and provide additional security for those who tend to incite undesirable effects in their crowds. Who knows what this could mean in the future even if now it is a fight tomorrow it could be an artist speaking out against I don’t know, police practices or violence. I really don’t understand how the people who govern this country continue to be re-elected with batshit and half developed ideas such as this one threatening to become law every day. I hope for the city of Philly that this bill gets shot down hard in court but also that it gets shot down by the people of the city as well.
Wow, this bill has big brother written all over it. It would be one thing if all they wanted to do was track artists and their correlation to disruptive events, and then have some kind of system in place for when venues wanted to bring those artists to the city. Maybe extra vetting of some sort or higher fees. But I can’t see a good reason to want that much personal information about every single artist that comes to the city, even if they haven’t had a history of causing trouble. Like John Walker said, the future implications of this bill are grim. Its very easy to see a future in which this information is used against artists that speak out against the government or police. When the very people your work might be protesting have access to all your personal information any kind of protest becomes very dangerous and easy for the government to shut down.
3 comments:
This proposed bill is both very concerning and clearly had little logical thought put into its planning. At the surface level, the idea of police control over who gets to perform seems like a daunting foray into “Big Brother” territory of police-state control. America already has a serious problem with policing, and it is the type of thinking that is behind this bill that causes many of the issues. The idea that approving live performances is a job for the police department is outlandish. Also, as is pointed out in the article, the required provision of phone numbers and addresses isn’t only rude, it’s creepy. Performers have very little “private life” once they hit fame, so requiring personal information from them breaches what little privacy they have left. When a performer is booked to do a show, it is done through a manager or agent because that is how these professional engagements are handled. The personal contact information of the performers is usually not involved because that is not a necessary or appropriate component of the process. It is scary to think that elected officials think these measures are necessary and suitable. If Philly wants to implement this bill, they can expect to see a dramatic decrease in live performances, a negative effect on their economy. Artists simply aren’t going to put up with this type of thing when there are tons of cities who will welcome them.
This bill is completely ridiculous, even the very premise that the police department has any job whatsoever in controlling or gathering information on what law abiding citizens are performing where and when is absolutely insane. The scariest part is the idea that this is designed to identify and provide additional security for those who tend to incite undesirable effects in their crowds. Who knows what this could mean in the future even if now it is a fight tomorrow it could be an artist speaking out against I don’t know, police practices or violence. I really don’t understand how the people who govern this country continue to be re-elected with batshit and half developed ideas such as this one threatening to become law every day. I hope for the city of Philly that this bill gets shot down hard in court but also that it gets shot down by the people of the city as well.
Wow, this bill has big brother written all over it. It would be one thing if all they wanted to do was track artists and their correlation to disruptive events, and then have some kind of system in place for when venues wanted to bring those artists to the city. Maybe extra vetting of some sort or higher fees. But I can’t see a good reason to want that much personal information about every single artist that comes to the city, even if they haven’t had a history of causing trouble. Like John Walker said, the future implications of this bill are grim. Its very easy to see a future in which this information is used against artists that speak out against the government or police. When the very people your work might be protesting have access to all your personal information any kind of protest becomes very dangerous and easy for the government to shut down.
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