In what could prove to be an administrative nightmare, it has been revealed that a number of governments are considering conducting searches of MP3 players as they pass through airports, in order to check for illegally-obtained music. The proposal, which suggests "criminal sanctions for infringement on a commercial sale" was discovered when an Australian Federal Government discussion paper was leaked to the press.
The office of Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith confirmed that they were part of negotiations for the international agreement but that they had not agreed or signed up to any aspect of it.
Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos told News.com.au: "It talks about [sanctions for] commercial infringements. Does that mean one, 10, 20 or 1000 songs?"
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn added: "Searching into people's iPods is out of order. We don't need to suffer draconian regimes to protect intellectual property. US music labels are keen for their government to sign up other countries to the zero-tolerance stance. It could be that people get sent to jail for being in possession of commercial-scale quantities of copied music".