SSSCA Squirms Forward Again Thursday

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SSSCA Squirms Forward Again Thursday

Posted by timothy on Wednesday February 27, 2002 @04:21AM from the we'll-compromise-on-half-a-cup-of-poison dept.

An anonymous reader writes: "Here we go! Only temporarily tripped up by Sept. 11th (and of course journalists and webmasters calling his office), Fritz Hollings is starting hearings on embedding copy protection in all digital devices and making the removal or circumvention of these protections a crime. Hurrah for freedom!"

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Re:Seriously... by Masem · 2002-02-27 04:32 · Score: 3, Informative

The SSSCA bill, at least the draft that was out in the open, has a grandfather clause that any computer hardware/software made before 2 years after the bill passes are exempt. The 2 years is the amount of time that the bill requires the content and computer industries to decide on a format; else Congress steps in and standardizes the formats.

--
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MPAA want DRM by law by Cally · 2002-02-27 04:33 · Score: 3, Informative

Jack ("The VCR is to the American public as
the Boston strangler to single women") Valenti of the MPAA wrote a depressing editorial at The Washington Post, calling for DRM-enabled OSes to be the (presumably, legally mandated) standard, in order to save Hollywood from the same
terrible fate that befell the music industry while Napster was operating. Depressing because, although his case has more holes than Internet Explorer, it smells of a ploy to get more bad laws passed. Three guesses what would happen to non-compliant (read: Free) OSes once this terrible law goes through...
The Register
has a good scathing response.

When Free software is against the law, only outlaws will have Free software...

--
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
The Letter Fritz sent me when I asked about SSSCA by vtechpilot · 2002-02-27 04:39 · Score: 5, Informative

Last October I wrote Senator Hollings a letter asking about the SSSCA. I suppose since I am a South Carolina resident he took the time to reply. In a letter dated November 13, 2001 from the senator:

Dear Mr. Sattler

Thank you for your recent communication regarding legislation that address copyright protection on the internet.

I believe that any proposed legislation must meet consumers' expectations while protecting intellectual property. Ideally, the private sector will work to solve these problems. While I am considering legislation in this area, I am not intoducing a bill at this time.

You can be certain that if legislation is developed, I will take your concerns into consideration in order to ensure the rights of consumers as well as those of the creators of Internet material.

With kindest regards, I am

Sincerely,

Ernest F. Hollings

So basically he denied that the SSSCA existed at the time. What a blatant lie.

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Slashdot is an anagram for Has Dolts, and I am Dolt number 468543
Re:err wtf.. by thesolo · 2002-02-27 04:44 · Score: 5, Informative

i live in south carolina so this fucker is supposedly representing me. last time i checked digital encryption was not on my to do list... south carolina is still 49th in education, the little shit needs his priorities adjusted... all in favor of removing him from office say i. (south carolina high school student skipping school today)

Unfortunately, Senator Hollings has been bought out by corporate interests for some time now. He is basically now the elected Disney representative. He has received almost $300,000 since 1995 in "donations" from large corporations, including AOL/TW, Disney, News Corp (Fox), Viacom (CBS), and NBC. Check out this article on The Register for more info.

If you are a resident of South Carolina, then you are a constituent of Sen. Hollings. PLEASE, contact a rep at any of his offices, and tell them you are a constituent who is AGAINST the SSSCA. Be polite, be firm, give your address, make sure they know you are a citizen & a voter. Only activism by us geeks is going to get these types of things stopped.
Re:Last thing we need by Aexia · 2002-02-27 04:44 · Score: 3, Informative

Being forced to implement copy-protection in their hardware would NOT be compatible with their business interests.

I think it's less
"We don't think government-mandated technology solutions are in the best interests of consumers or anyone else,"

and more
"We think Intel-mandated technology solutions are in the best interests of Intel and anyone else."
Re:Post-Enron by thesolo · 2002-02-27 04:47 · Score: 4, Informative

Should we be looking at the motives of politicians who sponsor bills?

Yes, we absolutely should. Especially when the politician in question has received almost $300,000 in corporate donations from the worlds largest media companies.
Re:Seriously... by Anonymous Coward · 2002-02-27 04:52 · Score: 3, Informative

Also here's a link to the committee itself Commerce Committee. That has names and addresses (including email) for senators who should be at the hearing.
Slashdot Contributors Should Consider... by Greyfox · 2002-02-27 05:08 · Score: 5, Informative

When contributing to slashdot you should consider including an opensecrets link when talking about anything any specific congressperson is doing. Like so: Ernest F. Hollings.
Of most interest on that page? Top Industries and Top contributors on the left hand side. And yes, big media companies are giving him a lot of cash. And yes, I'd say he's probably just returning the favor.
Hmm. Perhaps it's time to send a couple of hundred dollars to the South Carolina Republican party in the hopes that they can defeat him in the next election cycle.

--
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Re:Post-Enron by mr.nicholas · 2002-02-27 05:13 · Score: 5, Informative

And in that vein, here's some quotes:
http://www.publicampaign.org/press_releases/pr6_29 _99.html

This past May, Senator Hollings cast a most unusual vote, as the only Democrat to support the Financial Modernization Act (FMA) of 1999, S. 900. Hollings' vote regarding this bill is difficult to explain, given his pro-consumer voting record. But when considered in the context of the over $250,000 the Senator received from industries that would most benefit from the legislation, additional light is shed on his decision.
The Golden Leash Award is a modern incarnation of former Senator William Proxmire's legendary Golden Fleece, which highlighted government waste and abuse.
"Senator Hollings' vote is an ideal example of how campaign contributions appear to influence strongly the way a Senator votes. What else would explain his puzzling anti-consumer position on this important bill from a senator who has a long history of pro-consumer stands?" said Ellen Miller, executive director of Public Campaign.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/21830 .html
As the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, one of the most important committee chairs on Capitol Hill, Hollings has attracted quite a stable of high-profile donors over the years. According to Federal Election Commission data presented by campaign contribution watchdog Open Secrets, there are five major media and entertainment companies in the top 20 list of Hollings' most generous campaign donors. They include AOL Time Warner ($33,500), the Murdoch-owned News Corporation ($28,224), Viacom's CBS ($16,632), the National Association of Broadcasters ($22,000), and Walt Disney Co. ($18,500).
The individual donors from those companies include a flock of high-ranking executives from various News Corp/Fox subsidiaries, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, and Ted Turner from AOL Time Warner. Since 1995, employees from companies producing television, movies, music, and other media content have sent Hollings $287,534, making the entertainment industry his second most generous supporters. Those individual donations look like small potatoes, especially when you find out that they cover the past five to six years of campaign contributions.

There are more; just do a google search on "Fritz Hollings campaign contributions" and see what you get.
It's not too late by Oates · 2002-02-27 05:24 · Score: 5, Informative

If you are a constiuent and a voter, call today to register your opposition to this proposed bill. Don't wait--the committee is scheduled to meet on this tomorrow. You can find this list at http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/members.htm 202-224-5115 508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510-6125 Democrats Phone Number Fax Number Ernest F. Hollings, SC (202)224-6121 (202)224-4293 Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii (202)224-3934 (202)224-3934 John D. Rockefeller IV, WV (202)224-6472 (202)224-7665 John F. Kerry, Massachusetts (202)224-2742 (202)224-8525 John B. Breaux, Louisiana (202)224-4623 (202)228-2577 Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota (202)224-2551 (202)224-1193 Ron Wyden, Oregon (202)224-5244 (202)228-2717 Max Cleland, Georgia (202)224-3521 (202)224-0072 Barbara Boxer, California (202)224-3553 (202)228-1338 John Edwards, North Carolina (202)224-3154 (202)224-3154 Jean Carnahan, Missouri (202)224-6154 (202)224-6154 Bill Nelson, Florida (202)224-5274 (202)228-2183 Republicans Phone Number Fax Number John McCain, Arizona (202)224-2235 (202)228-2862 Ted Stevens, Alaska (202)224-3004 (202)224-2354 Conrad Burns, Montana (202)224-2644 (202)224-2644 Trent Lott, Mississippi (202)224-6253 (202)224-2262 Kay Bailey Hutchison,Texas (202)224-5922 (202)224-0776 Olympia J. Snowe, Maine (202)224-5344 (202)224-1946 Sam Brownback, Kansas (202)224-6521 (202)228 1265 Gordon Smith, Oregon (202)224-3753 (202)228-3997 Peter G. Fitzgerald, Illinois (202)224-2854 (202)228-1372 John Ensign, Nevada (202)224-6244 (202)228-2193 George Allen, Virginia (202)224-4024 (202)224-4024
It's worse than you think: SSSCA and Microsoft by Melantha_Bacchae · 2002-02-27 05:41 · Score: 5, Informative

The first round for SSSCA ended in October of 2001 with it being postponed indefinately. Microsoft actually came out (mildly) against it. On December 11, 2001, Microsoft was granted patent 6,330,670 for the "Digital rights management operating system". (Microsoft also has 19 other patents on the subject of DRM.)

One of the initial concerns over SSSCA had to do with the fact that Windows XP already had DRM built in, and so the law would give it an unfair advantage. "Unfair advantage" has now become a gross understatement. Microsoft has patented what the SSSCA would require of every OS. This leaves Apple, Linux, etc. with only three options:

1) Try to license DRMOS from Microsoft, and MS refuses: your OS is history.

2) Try to license DRMOS from Microsoft, and MS lets you. Be prepared to pay through the nose. Also, realize that MS is going to throw all kinds of things into the agreement, from IE to .Net and everything in between.

3) Try to break their patent. Good luck.

I would strongly suggest fighting SSSCA tooth and nail, now while we still can. Give Apple and the various corporate allies of Linux a heads-up, they can help. Raise the alarm in the world outside Slashdot.

If we don't stop this, Microsoft (and the MPAA and RIAA) will have their Millenium (thousand year rule).

Come on, Tok Wira, these sharks have got to pay!
New Kirk calling Mothra: "We need you today!"
Re:Writing might be better than calling by __aapbgd5977 · 2002-02-27 07:20 · Score: 3, Informative

Having worked in a member's office, they are swamped with mail and usually won't read the letter except to categorize it as "SSSCA - No". This is the same treatment given when people call in and say "I'm a state/district resident, and I oppose the SSSCA. Can I please get a written reply from your office?"

Getting the written reply ensures that your opinion will be recorded. We often kept tabs on an issue based on the number of yes replys and the number of no replys we sent out.