The Department of Justice has put forward recommendations to the House Judiciary Committee to make illegal streaming a felony in the US.

In a hearing titled Copyright Remedies on Thursday (July 24), acting deputy assistant attorney general David Bitkower cited research which showed bandwidth consumed by illegal video streaming grew 470% between 2010 and 2012.

Under current copyright law, illegal streaming is classed as a ‘public performance’ and is treated as a misdemeanour, unlike illegal downloading which is a felony. ...