Justin Bieber has condemned legislation to make unauthorized streaming a felony punishable by five years in prison, calling it "ridiculous." In a Thursday interview with a Washington, DC, radio station, he said that the legislation's sponsor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), should be "locked up—put away in cuffs."

The news is surprising because two days earlier, his lawyers sent a cease-and-desist order to the website FreeBieber.org, which also opposes the bill. The site highlights the possibility that the legislation would make felons of artists like Bieber. The radio interview didn't cover the FreeBieber controversy, but it seems likely that the takedown request wasn't Bieber's idea.

In the interview, Bieber said that he had no objection to fans uploading videos of themselves singing Justin Bieber songs. "Are you kidding me? I check YouTube all the time and watch people singing my songs. I think it's awesome," he said.

"People need to have the freedoms," he said. "People need to be able to sing songs. I just think that's ridiculous."

The legislation in question was introduced in the Senate in May, and makes it a felony to show 10 or more "public performances" by electronic means in any 180-day period. Although it appears to be intended to target the streaming of Hollywood movies and copyrighted sports broadcasts, some legal experts believe it would apply to user-created videos like the ones that made Bieber famous.

The House version of the Protect IP Act, which we covered on Thursday, has a similar provision.