Slashdot Mirror
"Super-DMCA" Bills In Tennessee and Arkansas
David Turner writes "Tomorrow, Tennessee's Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing
on two nearly identical DMCA-like bills. These bills threaten
personal privacy, anonymity, and security research. SB
213 and HB457
are similar to state laws
introduced all over the country by the MPAA. Despite amendments, the bills still threaten digital freedom. Last
month, twenty people showed up at the Massachusetts public
hearing, and effectively opposed the one MPAA lobbyist. If you attend, speak from notes rather than simply reading a statement (but you
may be able to submit written testimony). Please come to Legislative
Plaza in Nashville, rooms 12 and 14 at 3:30pm." And Kraken137 writes "The House and Senate of the Arkansas state legislature have passed the MPAA's "Super-DMCA" Bill, and it is now sitting on the Governor's desk awaiting his signature. It's not too late to convince him to veto this bill! Arkansas residents are urged to contact the Governor's office to express their opposition to this violation of rights. The ever-vigilant EFF has a page where residents can send a fax to Governor Huckabee's office to let their voices be heard. Remember, paper and phone calls make more of a difference than emails!"
somehow i doubt the governor is going to listen to his constituents when the MPAA i$ breathing down his neck.
"I can not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presents danger, the solution is ignorance" - Isaac Asimov
Time to once again send a fax to my senator. This is really getting to the point of rediculous by the MPAA and the RIAA. People will still be cracking their movies and music and spreading them over systems they cannot touch.
Someone (not me, I have things to do) needs to set up a website tracking this type of event, which allows people to enter their zipcodes and email addresses to be alerted when a lobbying opportunity arises in their area. I would be the first to sign up for Southern California.
If you feel you are up to the task - email me at ian[@]locut.us and I will do what I can to help, within the time contraints of my other projects.
It will do no good to try to change their minds they
are to busy lining their pockets. Hucklebarry has cut budgets to about every social service in arkansas other than medicaid and food stamps. He will no doubt get a nice contribution from one of the labels for signing it.
As one of his constituents, I doubt he will listen (a lot of people in Arkansas recognize that he is in office for the wrong reasons), but I would say that's because most government officials will not take time to look at this issue in depth. The MPAA and RIAA can be very loud.
Don't you remember the Segway? How before it was even available, and before most people had even seen one it was being pronounced legal to ride on the sidewalks of major cities all over the US? How snappy lobbying suddenly made something OK without any real discussion?
The sad thing in today's legislative system is that it takes a lobbyist or a lawyer to get your agenda even the least bit of attention. The masses have no real control...all we can do is support organizations that we agree with.
This is *not a troll*, he actually said it!
Talking To Americans
I mean if the guy is stupid enough to say that, he is stupid enough to sign this bill, so WRITE, PHONE, GO DOWN IN PERSON to this guy and STOP HIM!
The dangers of this are entirely in the disturbing broadness in the definitions, and the "everything not permitted is forbidden" catch. I much prefer the "everything not forbidden is permitted" way of things.
This would make it illegal for me to use fake referrer IDs (which I sometimes use) on my web browser. This would forbid me to share the DSL connection I share with my father's computer- why would ISPs ever want to allow shared connections? This would forbid me from burning my own music to CD, meaning the music that I myself composed.
The way it's worded actually outlaws power-line networking! While I don't really see that as a bad thing- people picking up on that will oppose the bill, and I think power-line networking is a Really Bad Idea(TM), it's more devious than that- with the "express consent required," you would have to get written consent from the companies in question whenever you want to plug something in to a wall outlet if power-line networking occurs.
This is a truly horrid, debilitating law- which I have every intention to flagrantly violate if I get a chance- start a company that specializes in making nothing but those things, use resources that law would forbid...
The "must get permission" thing is the part that scares me the most.
Warning: Poster of this comment is a nerd. Just like everybody else here.
Just take a Linksys box, and a copy of Windows XP into the hearing room and tell the dumbasses there assembled that these useful and commonly used devices will be illegal in their state if this moronic bill passes. And that all those High Tech Jobs (TM) that aforementioned dumbasses keep saying they want to attract will move out of state if said moronic restrictions in fact become law.
sulli
RTFJ.
For crying out loud people, leave you homes and SHOW them how many people care.
Do you really think it will matter? Ok, so a bunch of people show up, and facing a modicum of public opposition they don't act on the bill.
...until 9 months from now when people lose interest in it, the lobbyists make their wishes known, and the bill gets tacked on as a rider to some unrelated (but much easier to pass) piece of legislation, signed by the governor, and becomes law. The end.
I don't think you realize how little control you have over your government. It's all money, all the time. In cases where public interest collides with money, the public interest will lose every single time. And if they can't get it the first time, they'll get it the second.
Your voice doesn't matter.
It's a shame people hold their entertainment as such an important part of their life that there could never be a successful boycot of the MPAA or RIAA.
No way would most people skip out on Matrix 2! Can you imagine, not forking over $8 to the MPAA to see a movie?!
Forget freedom, what's on TV?
No, eventaully we'll quit buying their stuff. The record companies have already succeeded, and if the MPAA doesn't lay off, I may just have to stop buying DVD's too.
We are the customer, in the end we hold all the power. True - they may have to beat some of us back with a stick to keep us from buying their product eventually. But right now their primary task is looking around for a bigger stick to beat the customer with. Eventually, we'll just say "ouch" and walk away.
Why not do away with entertainment purchases for a year to see how much of an impact we can make? Are we too addicted to their drug to do this?
Because for this to have any effect whatsoever it would have to be done by a significant percentage of the population. How will you be able to spread the word about this boycott? Do you think you could ever get more than a modicum of people to join in? Man, hell no! "Law & Order" is on tonight!
Think about this: There hasn't been an effective consumer boycotts since the 1980's. Even the religious right has given up on product boycotts. Why do you think that is? And do you think you could fight the backlash of propaganda from the media were this to ever even to show the smallest signs of gaining traction?
If you read Slashdot, then more than likely you have above average interest and knowledge about computers and technology.
For political expediency, I'll just identify you as Knowledge Workers of the Third Millenium (rather than karma whores, trolls, etc.)
If ever in the future you might consider starting your own technology-related business, or already own a technology-related business, then you can start to increase your employee morale, productivity and unfettered creativity by choosing a place to base your business that does not place draconian measures on the free flow of information for the sake of vested special interest groups saying words like "piracy" and "patriotism".
A trickle of feedback like this to a few chambers of commerce in the right states would do wonders in stemming the tide of such ill-thought legislation. Just about every state in the USA and every locality everywhere wants to become the next Silicon Valley. If you let them know, as the kind of person that makes up what makes Silicon Valley represents, that Tennesse (or wherever) is condemning itself to becoming a repressive backwater by adopting the same kind of legislation that has done so much to help the information economies
"Provided by the management for your protection."
While I live on the opposite corner, we do happen to have quite a few local tech jobs around here. If one wanted to completely overlook all the secondary players, Wal-Mart alone employees several thousand programmers. Honestly I hate the way people see pictures of southern Arkansas (or for that matter Memphis or Little Rock) and assume the whole damned state is like that. I live in a metro area of roughly 350,000 people with a 2.5% unemployment rate. AARP recently rated Fayetteville as the 5th best town in the country to live in. Our MSA is currently the sixth fastest growing in the country(47% increase in population from 1990-2000). It is also rated the 36th safest metropolitan area in the US. Our airport was one of only a handful that actually INCREASED in traffic after September 11th and continues to increase to this day. I'm not really sure what started this diatribe, but please refrain from taking point statistics and making that information seem to apply to an entire two state region.
If we could just get Washington, Lincoln, and Jackson to pipe down maybe we could get a word in edgewise. :-}
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
Sad to say your complaints are falling on deaf ears. The politians don't give a rat's ass what you want. Wait until they start locking you guys up for using ssh or squid proxy.
Again, welcome to my world. Can you pass the soap?
Between the lines: Nowhere in this letter, do I, Melissa Hart, member of the IP Subcommittee, actually take a stand for or against the DMCRA. I will wait until the last possible moment to vote for it and hope that it is swept under the carpet when you are not looking. /waves hand/ This is not the bill you are looking for. PS - Did I mention I'm a member of the IP Subcommittee.
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
1) Prohibits monitary donations to individuals with voting rights (i.e. NO LOBBYS / Corporations / Associations ).
2) Put a cap on monitary donations to no more than $ 5000.00 total per year to any policitcal campain (Local, Federal, or State). This would force "individuals" to re-think how they donate monies.
3) ALL donations regardless of the amounts must appear on the donater's tax returns (any amount over the $ 5000 would be taxed at the maximum % as a penalty)
4) All donations must appear on the polititians "records" and NOT aggrigrated.
NOTE: Lobbiests could still violage #1 but would be severely limited by #2 and #3.
UPS Sucks
One of the things prohibited by this legislation is concealing the origin or destination of any communication from the communication service provider. This could mean you can't use ssh or a VPN!
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act now requires these sorts of technologies when electronically communicating medical information. So will doctors in these states nolonger be able to access patient, hospital or insurance records from off-site?
It's all a question of priority. Your medical information isn't as important as the latest Britany Spears release.