Wow, the Chinese really are at the forefront of everything these days.

The New York Times [Via PK] is reporting on a new program in Hong Kong involving hundreds of thousands of young people scouring the internet to rat out their friends and classmates for sharing content.

Starting this summer the Hong Kong government plans to have 200,000 youths search Internet discussion sites for illegal copies of copyrighted songs and movies, and report them to the authorities. The campaign has delighted the entertainment industry, but prompted misgivings among some civil liberties advocates.

The so-called Youth Ambassadors campaign will start on Wednesday with 1,600 youths pledging their participation at a stadium in front of leading Hong Kong film and singing stars and several Hong Kong government ministers.

And I thought that suing 12 year old girls was bad enough. Not for the Chinese! They've created an army of snitches. Could you just imagine if the MySpace hordes were working for the Hollywood cartels?

The Hong Kong youth campaign covers a sixth of the territory’s youths ages 9 to 25 and is particularly aimed at teenagers. It is drawing international interest. Customs officials here have already been contacted by their counterparts in the United States, Macao and mainland China, and are ready to work with other jurisdictions to help set up similar programs, Mr. Tam said.

Uh oh.

But Dean Boyd, a Homeland Security Department spokesman in Washington, said that the United States had no plans to introduce a similar program, partly because of liability concerns.

Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America, said in an e-mail message that the group had no plans to ask scouts to report infringements to law enforcement officials.

Well, that's better.

I'm not one to offer policy advice to the Chinese government, let alone on piracy which is rampant, but this is just outrageous. How long until the Hollywood cartels want this in every school?

Now?

Yup, the RIAA has announced a program paid for with your tax dollars to infiltrate schools:

"Our partnership with the RIAA will allow us to educate more students about the proper use of intellectual property," said i-SAFE President and CEO Teri Schroeder. "Through awareness we empower teens to make appropriate decisions on the Internet and make a positive change in both attitude and behavior."

Never heard of i-SAFE? Neither had I. Here is the RIAA's description:

i-SAFE, a government funded non-profit Internet safety foundation, focuses on creating safe communities by conducting school assemblies; training teachers, law enforcement officers and students to deliver safety-oriented messages; and by establishing partnerships with student associations. Since September 2005, i-SAFE has conducted assemblies at more than 350 schools. Going forward, i-SAFE will work with the RIAA to develop a nationwide assembly experience on intellectual property for students in middle school and high school.

This is just out of control. It really is only a matter of time until the Hollywood cartels have their hands in everything.

If you want to join the fight to stop them, consider supporting IPac.