Comments on: Backdoor regulation of consumers, and its political attractions https://www.overlawyered.com/2018/05/backdoor-regulation-of-consumers-and-its-political-attractions/ Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 22 May 2018 00:30:10 +0000 hourly 1 By: Peter Tompa https://www.overlawyered.com/2018/05/backdoor-regulation-of-consumers-and-its-political-attractions/comment-page-1/#comment-348869 Tue, 22 May 2018 00:30:10 +0000 https://www.overlawyered.com/?p=70704#comment-348869 The latest iteration of this is HR 5886 which shockingly is a measure introduced by Congressman Luke Messer, an Indiana Republican. The bill seeks to have the small businesses of the antiquities and art trade be subject to money laundering regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act. This bill raises serious questions of compliance costs, as well as the possibility that the information that will be collected will be misused by law enforcement with contacts to the archaeological lobby to create profiles of collectors that can then be harassed. Apparently, that lobby— which detests private collecting and favors state control of everything old— has convinced the Congressman despite substantial evidence to the contrary that antiquities and art is a major ISIS funding source. http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2017/12/hipster-internet-art-newsletter-raises.html Hopefully, common sense and what are supposed to be traditional Republican values will prevail, but not sanguine given their scare tactics which have not been subject to the scrutiny they deserve. See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2017/12/hipster-internet-art-newsletter-raises.html. Their ultimate aim however is to end private collecting, something also advocated by their allies in authoritarian states like Egypt.

Hope you can cover this further in your great blog.

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