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Industry Divided Over SSSCA
CBravo writes: "The EE Times has a story that talks about the SSSCA and how it divides the industry. Short part:'If approved, the law would be enforceable under federal regulations and could dramatically alter the way system OEMs design and develop PCs, TVs, set-tops or other digital appliances with embedded microprocessors, according to industry sources familiar with the Hollings proposal. The motion-picture industry, with the Disney and Fox studios in the lead, backs the legislation.'" If you thought the DMCA was bad, look out -- the SSSCA would inject far more control into a wide range of electronic devices.
http://www.petitiononline.com/SSSCA/petition.html is just one.
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Why is it that many people who claim to support standards have such atrocious spelling and grammar?
If there's one thing we've learned this past month, it's that we must stick together. As computer users, we must stand together on this issue. This includes writing your state representatives in the U.S. Congress and Senate, since they will ultimately be deciding the fate of this bill.
Write Your Representative
Write Your Senator
Keep our rights alive!
Funny. It didn't work on the DMCA. Maybe this isn't worth "freaking out" over, but to dismiss it as a piece of junk legislation that will be thrown out immediately is insane. The SSSCA does have a chance of passing, and unless there is a sizable outcry from the people, big corps like Disney, etc. can and will push this thing through.
End of lesson. You may press the button.
Cryptome.org has the full text of the bill here. Check it out.
Don't let free software get destroyed by this clause, which seems obviously bought and paid for by Microsoft!
How do you explain this to your Mom?
Hi, mom.
Congress is considering a law that will make copying anything illegal. Taping shows from TV, copying songs to your Sony Minidisc, burning CDs, making backups of software, moving eBooks from your PC to your PDA, and a whole lot more won't be illegal but will be impossible because all computers and devices that will be made once the law is passed will explicitly ban it. Welcome to my nightmare.
You could show people RMS's story The Right to Read. It doesn't specifically relate to hardware-controlling laws though.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
I don't see how you can put this without it sounding a little alarmist. Disney wants you to purchase a new TV, DVD, VCR/TiVo and cable decoder... that they will then control.
Every time you place a DVD or VCR that you own or have rented in the devices that you bought, Disney will decide whether you are allowed to watch it, and how many times. Disney will decide whether you may tape shows to watch later, and how many times you can watch them, or when they will become unwatchable, or even if you can watch them at all.
They will assume that you are a thief, and they will stop you from watching anything that you cannot absolutely prove that you have paid for. If there is any doubt, your screen will go blank, and you will have no right of reply, or opportunity to prove your innocence.
And the best part is that they will make you pay for the new hardware that will enable this.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
- DMCA - 300 letters,
- Health care privacy - 40,000
- Home Schooling - 500,000+
Those physical letters count most. See the acm letter or the EFF for examples.Find your congressman and senators, write them letters, and mail them. Mail your own representatives. As a voter in their district you matter most to them. (Email is much less effective. They know about spam just like you do.) Whenever this issue moves into another stage (e.g., draft, committee, floor) write another.
If you want handbooks, check out Congressional Quarterly. The book Lobbying Congress, How the system works is quite relevant, although perhaps disturbing to some. It was written by lobbyists for lobbyists. You will also get other relevant hits with a "lobbying congress" query on Amazon.
The EFF has a large page on the SSSCA, complete with sample letters for your Congresscritters, and information on how to contact them. Check out the EFF Action Alert: Defeat the SSSCA.
We can stand around all day and yammer, but the more of us who write *and* call our Congressfolks, the more our voices are heard.
I am currently building up an anti-SSSCA task force in the Washington D.C. area. So far things are just restricted to swapping emails, and planning to meet at the Open Source conference in DC on October 10. Anyone who wants to help and can offer something useful (Political connections, previous experience, legal advice, etc.) feel free to send me an email (supabeastatsupabeastdotorg.). Please no random "I want to help but can't offer anything other than writing letters." emails, as I am a bit short on time right now!
When it comes to the point of 'infinite extension' of copyright, you're a little vague, and I suspect blamingthings on the DMCA that should instead be blamed on the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act. The DMCA did not of itself extend any copyright periods, Sonny Bono's legislation did that. You should probably make sure the "credit" goes where it's due.
On the other hand, the DMCA does not make adequate protection for copyright expiration. Buried into the bowels of the thing, there should be provisions for some sort of time-based revocation of access protection. AFAIK, there is no expiry in place for any content-protected media. Apparently, by the omission the DMCA in no way protects the concept of public domain.