Anti-Piracy Labeling Bill in Works

Rinisari writes "Just posted on news.com.com is an article with more on the bill that could make all digital consumer products be required to be labeled with information regarding any anti-piracy technology within the device. Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, will be the primary sponser of the bill (he's also got a text-only site)."

Comments

A happy medium

[NetDrain]

Let's hope that the Hollings bill doesn't also pass, because then you might as well slap the same generic label on every single digital device out there, just like danger tags on everything -- "Misuse of this kleenex could cause personal injury." You know what I mean.

But, simply by putting a label on the product that says "Restricts blah blah" people who wouldn't have had a clue will now at least have heard of copyright protection and digital restrictions. The more it's talked about, the more people will be judicious with their purchases, and hopefully we can see a happy medium balance itself out.

Sure, Mom and Pop won't know what the hell that tag means, but when us college students figure realize "hey, I can't download my music anymore?! WTF!!" sales of young-person-targeted devices (PDAs, MP3 players, sleek laptops, etc.) will drop if the restrictions are too high.

Now, if only we can get this through, fix the DMCA, and repeal the PATRIOT act...

Why isn't this guy running for president?

[zutronics]

During my unemployment tour "02-03", I've watched Wyden fight for some good causes on CSPAN. He is the guy who pushed for more oversight in the Office of Total Information Awareness program. He also has exposed the anti-consumer tactics of the oil industry. Why aren't there more like him around?

Re:It's really needed.

[Chemical]

Is it that Sony Net Walkman? Yuck. You have to encode everything as ATRAC3 and "check in, check out" using their crappy software. No thanks. In fact, I wont buy any Sony MP3 anything for fear that I would have to use some of their check in check out BS. That includes their DVD players, car CD/MP3 players, or whatever else. I advise others to do the same.

iPod and similar devices are really the only way to go. You mount the unit like a file system, and just drag the files over. No re-encoding, no checking the files out. No DRM. Just ease of use and great performance. Sony realizes this, but because of their music devison holding them back, they are stuck with the crappy DRM hassleware.

Also, my Pioneer car deck plays MP3s without any crap. Burn the files onto a regular ISO9660 disc, and you're done. No special software. No proprietary formats. No hassles. I know Sony makes decks that play MP3s, but because of all thier DRM pushing, I would be very skeptical about buying one.

In short, because of Sony Music pushing for DRM, I am probably not going to buy Sony audio electronics again. At one time they were the best, because of Sony Music being scared of their own customers and forcing this lockdown, I'm not even taking a chance with Sony stuff.

Re:Don't call it anti-piracy!

[dirk]

This technology should never be called anti-piracy technology; it's very strange to see Slashdot use such a deceptive term. This is anti-copy technology. It prevents fair use as well as piracy. It prevents users from doing things with the music they buy that the Supreme Court has already declaired as totally legal. There is no technology that just prevents piracy but allows legitimate use by users, just the opposite, many of these technologies hardly slow pirates at all, but present serious problems for legitimate users.

While it does stop some fair use (depending on the technology), I think calling it "anti-piracy technology" is completely appropriate. That is what it is designed for, and the major task it accomplishes. Saying it isn't descriptive enough is like saying the alarm system on a car shouldn't be called an "anti-theft device" because it also stops the rightful owner of breaking in when he loses his keys. Nit-picking at terminology isn't going to help the actual battle.