Jack Valenti's Views On The Digital Age

ditogi writes "The Harvard Political Review did a quick interview with the lord of darkness himself, Jack Valenti. He gives his thoughts on government mandated copy prevention, fair use, and lobbying. In response to his famous 'VCR is [to the movie industry]...as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.' quote, he responds, 'I wasn't opposed to the VCR.' And what does he think of his current job? 'I think lobbying is really an honest profession.'" My favorite quote: "In the digital world, we don't need back-ups, because a digital copy never wears out. It is timeless." Update: 02/05 20:05 GMT by T : Derek Slater writes "I'm the author of the Valenti article you guys linked to. I've made some brief comments about it on my site, and figured I'd send them along."

Comments

Let's hear it for the Boston Strangler

[SiliconEntity]

I wasn't opposed to the VCR.

So I guess he wasn't opposed to the Boston Strangler either?

Perhaps it's time for a new law...

[goldspider]

Quoth the Dark One: "What is fair use? Fair use is not a law. There's nothing in law."

I always hate suggesting the addition of yet another law to our books, but I wonder if his position would change in the face of a law establishing fair use rights. What would his argument (and purpose, for that matter) be then?