Some Movie Pirates Are Terrorists, Valenti Claims


People who counterfeit movies are not only pirates, some are actually terrorists, MPAA chief Jack Valenti charged Wednesday. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Valenti cited an Interpol report, which, he said, concluded that "there is a significant link between counterfeiting and terrorism in locations where there are entrenched terrorist groups." According to the report, Valenti said, terrorists have turned to piracy as the preferred way to raise funds, since it is less risky than drug smuggling and money laundering. "It stands to reason that if it's low-risk, high-return and if you get caught it's a slap on the wrist, then criminals are going to do it," Valenti said. However, Daily Variety pointed out today (Thursday) that the Interpol report mentions mostly counterfeit household items like shampoos and perfume, and that the only reference to movies was contained in a section about a single individual who reportedly distributed Hezbollah propaganda films as part of his supply of pirated music and video games.

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