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List:       computerguys-l
Subject:    FWD: IP: : The Register sees big danger in CBDTPA bill
From:       David Chessler <chessler () USA ! NET>
Date:       2002-03-29 5:49:31
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* Original: FROM..... Dave Farber

-----Original Message-----
From: richard pauli
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 22:10:32
Subject: The Register sees big danger in CBDTPA bill

The Hollings bill would require that "anything that can record or store
digital information must be equipped with copy-prevention
technology".   The British site, The Register, is strident in tone, but
they make some good points.

RP

=======================
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24616.html

Operation Enduring Valenti
By Richard Forno

The United States is engaged in a war against oppressive regimes run by
ignorant fanatics barely able to comprehend the intricacies of modern
society. Through actions favoring the ruling class, secret midnight deals,
and restricting public distribution of information, citizens in these
societies are unable to evolve and live as productive members of the
international community. In Afghanistan, this was evidenced by the
philosophy and practices of the now-defunct Taliban. Unfortunately, this
damn- the-consequences Fundamentalist mindset has spread to America in the
entertainment industry's war on progress and human evolution.

In this case, the folks in question are led by Senator Ernest "Fritz"
Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) who serves as the duly- appointed
Congressional mouthpiece (and wholly-owned subsidiary) of the entertainment
industry cartels, having received nearly $300,000 in campaign funding from
Hollywood since 1997. Known in some circles as the 'Senator From Disney,'
Hollings also bears a striking resemblance to a younger Jack Valenti.
(Valenti, for those unaware, is CEO of the movie industry's lobby group and
the founder of the 'Church of Valenti' - a cash-rich for-profit religious
cartel that opposes any paradigm- or time-shifting technologies.)

Brainwashed by the Gospel of Valenti, the goal of Hollings and his Senate
supporters is simple. Under the guise of 'preserving America's intellectual
capital' and supported by the funding of the entertainment industry
cartels, they seek to sustain the entertainment industry's Industrial Age
business model (and monopolies) in the modern Information Age - where such
models are rendered obsolete by emerging technology. By doing so, these
elected puppets of Hollywood will continue earning campaign contributions
and ensure their job security.

-- snip --

According to Hollings, the lack of 'ubiquitous protections' has led to a
'lack of [high-quality] digital content on the Internet - apparently he
doesn't believe that consumers are interested in any 'high-quality digital
content' outside of what is produced by the major entertainment industries.
Forget the garage band in Miami or the two teenagers producing an hour-long
movie describing adolescent depression shot with Dad's camcorder during
Spring Break, or WashingtonPost.Com. Hollings' interpretation of the Gospel
of Valenti is that if a digital content didn't come from an entity
supporting the entertainment industry cartels it must not be a worthwhile
product. Unfortunately, many folks are of the belief that since we don't
require such 'security' measures for handguns (something that can kill
people) so why have such measures on electronic media which educates and
entertains them?

-- snip --

It should also be noted that with the exception of one executive from
Intel, every person invited to testify on the proposed CBDTPA was from the
entertainment industry....there were no artists, musicians, producers, or
consumers invited. So much for this being a 'consumer-friendly' bill.

-- snip --

Under the unpronounceable CBDTPA, anything that can record or store digital
information must be equipped with copy-prevention technology. Thus, under
CBDTPA, nearly all existing electronic devices such as personal computers,
mainframes, camcorders, servers, MP3 players, home stereos, VCRs, car
stereos, pocket calculators, wristwatches, cellular phones, microwave
ovens, CB radios, cameras, electronic thermostats, CD recorders,
photocopiers, fax machines, televisions, and rectal thermometers - would
become illegal.

-- snip --

The most striking aspect of CBDTPA and its cousin, the still- controversial
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) is that both automatically
outlaw what might be done by someone, and not what actually is done. Both
initiatives presume the citizen guilty until proven guiltier, not in the
eyes of the court, but by the pre- emptive whims and desires of
corporations seeking to maintain control over consumers and their crumbling
Industrial Age business models. In essence, they pre-emptively criminalize
what MIGHT happen, as opposed to what DOES happen (e.g., knowing how to
kill someone is not by itself illegal; but committing murder is, and being
proven to have done so carries harsh penalties).

-- snip --

According to some reports, America's domestic spending on computing
technology is over $600 billion a year, while Hollywood generates a measly
$35 billion to the national economy. CBDTPA would effectively compell a
huge, dynamic industry - composed of large and small companies,
individuals, and academic researchers - to redefine itself simply to
preserve the obsolete business models of the American entertainment industry.

-- snip --

Unfortunately for Americans and the people of the world embracing the
digital environment for any and all lawful purposes, the goals of Hollings
and his supporters - brainwashed by the Church of Valenti - run contrary to
everything the Internet stands for. CBDTPA and the Church of Valenti
represent a fundamental threat to the future of modern information society;
their goals are to effect electronic martial law on all information
resources and implement draconian measures on today's information society
for no other reason than to satisfy the profiteering desires of the
entertainment moguls desperately trying to keep their crumbling Industrial
Age business models from evolving into the Information Age.




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