Missouri’s Josh Hawley takes on Disney

Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Copyright Clause Restoration Act that would strip corporations, such as Disney, of special copyright protections.

Senator Hawley’s bill would limit new copyright protections to 56 years and make the change retroactive for massive corporations like Disney that have been granted unnecessarily long copyright monopolies.

“The age of Republican handouts to Big Business is over. Thanks to special copyright protections from Congress, woke corporations like Disney have earned billions while increasingly pandering to woke activists. It’s time to take away Disney’s special privileges and open up a new era of creativity and innovation,” Hawley said.

According to Hawley’s office, Congress has used an old law, known as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act,” in order to extend copyrights to corporations for up to 120 years. Instead of issuing copyright protections to create enough monopoly protection in order to foster innovation, companies are getting handouts from Congress for a much longer period than needed.

The action by Hawley comes after Disney publicly opposed Florida’s new parental rights legislation, which bars instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Those opposed to the legislation, including Disney, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, saying the law is hurtful to LGBTQ rights and inclusiveness.

However, the Florida law doesn’t actually contain the word “gay,” but states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”