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Boucher's Anti-DMCA Bill Gets High Profile Allies
Landaras writes "News.com is reporting that a newly-formed alliance called the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition is throwing their support and lobbying efforts behind Rep. Rick Boucher's (D-Va) Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act.
Members of the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition include Intel, Sun Microsystems, Verizon, SBC, Qwest, Gateway and BellSouth. The EFF and the American Library Association are also in support."
Finally, at least some of our rights are being upheld.
Karma: Segmentation fault (tried to dereference a null post)
Doesn't his widow now server in his stead? That's what I thought anyway.
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
This certainly smells of election-year politicing
/., but I'm sure somebody probably already has since I started this post.
Normally, I'd be inclined to agree, but Rep. Boucher has been championing this issue for some time now.
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There are of course many more. This bill was originally introduced in 2002. This guy is the real deal.
I didn't go back far enough to get the link of his interview here on
"The words of the prophets are written on the Slashdot walls."
From the about.com link posted to grandparent:
Bono is survived by his wife since 1986, Mary Whitaker,
Note that HP and Intel are playing both ends against the middle on this one.
I'm all for having big tough friends against the DCMA, I just wish the big tough friends could decide whether or not they're my friends.
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
Type up a letter and mail it everyone listed as a Representative at house.gov in your state, except your local representative. Your local Rep should get a handwritten (very neatly, thank you) letter.
e s/ Commerce_Trade_and_Consumer_Protection_Members.htm
You may also want to drop a line to the first sub-committee (Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property) listed here:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/submembers.htm
and to the first sub-committee (Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection) listed here:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/subcommitte
(BTW - Mary Bono is on that last committee. You might just want to hand write a note that if she doesn't like the bill, you recommend she stick it up her...um, no, maybe that's not a good idea, on second thought)
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You didn't read closely enough. Boucher's bill is the DMCRA, which not only imposes restrictions on the scope of the DMCA, but gives the Commission the power to regulate what is required to be visible to the consumer on a package of digital music.
I'm looking to get rich. I've got steps #2 (????) and #3 (PROFIT!) planned out, but am having trouble coming up with #1.
It's Representative Bono. She represent's California 45th District which includes parts of East LA County, the Palm Springs area, and Riverside County. California is represented by Senators Boxer and Feinstien, who if I remember correctly are also in the pocket of the entertainment industry.
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The sun beams down on a brand new day, No more welfare tax to pay, Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light...
So do what I did last week.
Join the EFF. When I'm asked what EFF stands for on the hat I wear all the time, THIS is the stuff I talk about.
As much as I respect the work the EFF does around fighting the RIAA and DirecTV, this kind of action is what really makes a difference in people's lives. Fighting the travesties that are the Patriot Act and the DMCA is an important piece of work, and the EFF does a phenomenal job through education and communication around these issues.
Sonny Bono isn't a Senator. He never was, even when he was alive. He was a Representative.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Always follow the money.
Verizon was hit hard by the RIAAs attempts to supoena the names of their users. It's not in Verizon's best interests to give up such names, because they make money on services, not software. The DMCA has severe effects on software and copywrited files. Verizon doesn't give a rats ass (as they should not) as to what goes across their networks, as long as people pay for the right to use those lines.
If people lose privacy and anonymity by using Verizon because they are the target of the RIAA, Verizon will lose customers. Verizon can't afford that.
Also note companies like Comcast and AOL/Time Warner who are cable companies who are NOT on that list. They provide internet services, but they are also part of larger media conglomerates that want their media content providers preserved.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Please sign up and take action at EFF if you live in the US. I have used the default forms many times and I have received back many letters from my representatives even though these are just e-mails that I have sent. Specifically, on HR 107, I just received yesterday a page and a half (typed, but still) positive response from my representative. With so many slashdotters, I am sure we can make a tiny difference.
Please try it, it takes only a few seconds after you have signed up to send an e-mail on each topic that comes up.
It looks like these are steps more in the direction that Cory Doctorow of the EFF thinks things should go, mentioned in a previous story on Slashdot.
Does anyone else find it interesting that the bill has references to concrete technical terms like the "Red Book" specification, "44100 samples per second", and "65536 values"? (though these congressmen probably have no idea what the hell this means)
How do you get a carpet-bagger from Florida? CarpetBaggers were the Northern Republicans who headed down South after the Civil war to help with the reconstruction but were pretty universally unwelcomed. The dude might be unwelcome and a Republican, but you don't get much farther South than Florida... ;)
I guess you've never heard of Ted Kennedy, or Charles Shumer, or Charlie Rangle (House).
Though that was the original meaning of the word, carpet bagger has long been used to refer to someone who previously had little ties to a state/city/region/etc and moved there shortly before an election to run there.
Most famous recent example: Hillary Clinton - a Chicago native, who moved to Arkansas, to Washington, and then out of the blue moved to NYC to run (successfully) for US Senate.
Believe me, Utah knows how big a bozo Hatch is.
Just wait for his term to be up in a few years.
I know most of the republicans think the same as you. He either is a genius or a nut.. or both. but one way or another I don't think he will make another term.
The term `prerecorded digital music disc product' means a commercial audio product comprised of a substrate in the form of a disc in which is recorded a sound recording or sound recordings generally in accordance with Red Book Audio specifications but that does not conform to all licensed requirements for Red Book Audio: Provided, That a substrate containing a prerecorded sound recording that conforms to the licensing requirements applicable to a DVD-Audio disc or a Super Audio Compact Disc is not a prerecorded digital music disc product.
OK, this means that "prerecorded digital music disc product" is a CD-like thing that sort of conforms to Red Book standards but doesn't really. However, note the caveat: DVD-Audio and SACD's are not included.
This is a very specific bill aimed at a very specific niche in the world. It is a good first step, but it's no Anti-DMCA at all. All it really says is that companies cannot make CD's that do not conform to the Red Book without labeling properly. Furthermore, this doesn't apply to DVD-Audio and SACD, the next-generation standards in audio music. The CD won't become obsolete in many years, but these new formats are becoming popular.
Anyhow, it's not to say that this act is no good. Again, it's a good first step, but this is no more than a skirmish in the war against the DMCA. And IMHO, to attack an overbroad act such as the DMCA, one needs an overbroad act.
I'm not sure, depends on what you are missing.
The ACLU has typically refused to get involved in some 2nd amendment cases, and has said they interpret the 2nd amendment in terms of a right to have a government accepted militia, rather than individual posession of firearms. They haven't actively campaigned for more firearms laws, just refused to oppose some, such as the Brady act.
The ACLU has often taken the position that rights are inherent in being human, so that even people who aren't US citizens should have those rights under US law. Some people see reasons why some rights shouldn't be applied to non-citizens, but it doesn't hurt to remember, a group that wants even non-citizens to be protected against something, such as being detained without formal charges being specified, is likely to also fight to protect that same right for citizens.
These two positions make some people (vocal here on slashdot) not want to support the ACLU. My point is, first, there are levels of disagreement. If the organization doesn't support a right as you think it exists, it is still somewhat better than if they actively support taking that right away, by lobbying for new laws against it.
Also, I'm argueing that a lot of alternatives to the ACLU are likely to be less responsive. If all a person feels they can do is contibute 25 dollars and write three letters to various organizations, they could have more or less impact. Letters to RIAA members are unlikely to influence them much as they are either heavily comitted to the opposite perspective, or are thinking in unrealistic terms to begin with, and will only realize they might be wrong when their business model costs them billions.
Letters to congressmen may or may not be taken seriously, depending on the congressman and whether he or she is your congresman, plus the policy on what letters get to what level of a congressman's support staff is not public, so you don't even know if you are being heard or not. Giving money to congressmen is more reliable, but you have to give a lot.
Letters and money to the an organization such as the EFF may focus your resources on a particular issue such as free speech, but those organizations are generally smaller and have less extensive contacts among the politicians, so there are tradeoffs even there.
Who is John Cabal?
No, HBO, et al., are still available on C-band satellite (the old big 2-meter dishes), you just have to pay for it ala DirecTV, and your receiver gets a SmartCard in it just like DirecTV.
How else do you think their signal gets sent to cable TV head-ends?
As the Symptom-Causing Nerve Gas guy used to say, "it's in the air! It's everywhere!"
The problem with tossing out the DMCA is that WIPO requires us to have some parts of it. The DMCA started as meeting that criteria and grew a little out of control.
"But I'm still right here, giving blood and keeping faith. And I'm still right here."