petition against copy-protection controls

[slingwood]

New Copyright Bill Heading to DC

WASHINGTON -- Music and record industry lobbyists are quietly readying an all-out assault on Congress this fall in hopes of dramatically rewriting copyright laws.

With the help of Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Commerce committee, they hope to embed copy-protection controls in nearly all consumer electronic devices and PCs. All types of digital content, including music, video and e-books, are covered.

The Security Systems Standards and Certification Act ( SSSCA ), scheduled to be introduced by Hollings, backs up this requirement with teeth: It would be a civil offense to create or sell any kind of computer equipment that "does not include and utilize certified security technologies" approved by the federal government.

link
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[moshquerade]

linky no worky

 

[kansai999]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
linky no worky

fixed link

 

[rs]

99,904 signatures so far. Can we AT'ers kick it over 100k? It's worth taking a moment - government-mandated copy protection is definately a "cold" deal.

 

[Vi11ag3r]

This seems old in that the proposed bill hasn't been called SSSCA in months. It's now called CBDTPA.

Copyright (CBDTPA) Bill Universally Rejected

The problem is that there's a never ending flood of bills of this type.

Hollywood's Latest Control Freakery (May 24, 2002)

Lawmakers Seek Rules to Stop Redistribution of Digital TV (July 23, 2002)

Hacking, hijacking our rights (Jul. 28, 2002)

Movie Studios Press Congress in Digital Copyright Dispute (July 29, 2002)

Sneaking DRM Amendments Through the Back Door (July 29, 2002)

Dan Gillmor of www.siliconvalley.com and Declan McCullagh, formerly of Wired and now of ZDNet are very active reporting on these issues.

Lawrence Lessig is also an eloquent spokesperson on copyright laws -
Free Culture - Lawrence Lessig Keynote from OSCON 2002 (Aug 15, 2002)

 

[schwinn8]

Edit: What HE said ^^ - beat me to it. Still, my point stands - forget the petitions... WRITE YOUR CONGRESS PERSON!

Last I heard, the SSSCA was eliminated in favor of the CBDTPA... gotta love these morons just changing names....

See: http://www.eff.org/IP/SSSCA_CBDTPA/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html

Besides this, there are so many other legislative activities that just don't make any sense. Take a look at the main page at http://www.eff.org/ and forget about these petitions - WRITE YOUR CONGRESS PERSON!

 

[stevef]

99928 signatures on the petition! c'mon AT'ers, lets at least hit 100k!

 

[look30]

No copy protection lasts more than a week or so , so I don't see any reason for alarm.
Call your Senator, Priest and Rabbi anyway

 

[phhnyc]

congress is going absolutely insane with the copyright laws...in case you guys didnt know, a lot of stuff was due to enter the public domain b/w now and 2004 (such as Mickey Mouse, many Gershwin pieces)...

Congress enacted the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998 which extended the copyright term from the life of author + 50 years to the life of the author + 70 years! the supposed reason for doing this is harmonization with the copyright laws of the EU...but here's the kicker: the CTEA applied retroactively, extending the copyrights for works that were already copyrighted and were due to enter the public domain shortly!

it's really absurd; copyright laws (since 1976) have been the most manifest example of successful rent-seeking by the high-power industries...the reason i know so much about this stuff is cuz my law school writing competition (which just ended) was about THIS TOPIC...also, copyright laws have tended to enjoy a "categorical immunity" from FIrst Amendment scrutiny...hopefully that'll change..

the supreme court should realize that laws like the CTEA, and the proposed law that the original poster listed, unduly burden free speech without producing any attendant public benefits. the only parties who benefit are those who hold the mega-copyrights; i.e. motion picture studios and the music industry. people need to realize that Congress has power to pass copyright laws "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts" art 1, s1, cl1. that's it! not to benefit bigtime campaign contributors....

 

[Zclyh3]

They do this, then just boycott everything and anything that has it embedded. Therefore, making companies go bankbrupt.

 

[SgtBuddy]

I sent a letter to my congressperson.

Most people laugh at online petitions. Too easy to tamper with.

Send a paper letter. Email is another tamper ridden media. (although quick...follow up with paper)

I always sign my rank and name. The military is a VERY large voting "union"




22 August 2002

I am strongly opposed to the proposed "Security Systems Standards and Certification Act" (SSSCA), which would force all new consumer electronics devices and personal computers to have government-mandated "policeware" built-in.

This proposed policeware would restrict what I can and cannot do with my own personal computers in my own home and business. Any person who disables this policeware would be subject to five years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.

I believe this proposed bill is a severe threat to the freedoms I enjoy as an American. The very idea of forcing government policeware into my home and business, and jailing those who tamper with or refuse to run this policeware on their own private computers, is terribly wrong and completely contrary to both the letter and spirit of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I urge you, my elected representative, to defeat the proposed SSSCA, and will take your actions regarding this bill into account when you stand for re-election.

Sincerely,


SgtBuddy...ok I used my real name
Registered Voter, Member of the Air Force Sergeants Association and a proud Oregonian