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Analog Hole Legislation Formally Introduced
phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica is covering a recent bit of legislation introduced to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee this past week. The laws would seek to close the 'Analog Hole' that serves as a sort of last-ditch pirating mechanism when corporate DRM goes all crazy and tramples on your fair-use rights: 'Calling the ability to convert analog video content to a digital format a significant technical weakness in content protection, H.R. 4569 would require all consumer electronics video devices manufactured more than 12 months after the DTCSA is passed to be able to detect and obey a rights signaling system that would be used to limit how content is viewed and used. That rights signaling system would consist of two DRM technologies, Video Encoded Invisible Light (VEIL) and Content Generation Management System--Analog (CGMS-A), which would be embedded in broadcasts and other analog video content.'" We've previously covered this bill.
Calling the ability to convert analog video content to a digital format a "significant technical weakness in content protection,"
I'm keen to see how these technically-inclined *ahem* folks intend to remove the digital-analog conversion: to the very best of my knowledge our eyes and ears are analog devices.
H.R. 4569 would require all consumer electronics video devices manufactured more than 12 months after the DTCSA is passed to be able to detect and obey a "rights signaling system" that would be used to limit how content is viewed and used.
I foresee a frenzy of electronics sales around ($DATE + 11_months).
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
I predict a sudden upsurge in the sales of old video hardware on ebay.
This isn't bad because it limits freedom or any such nonsense. That's a lot of hot air blown by zealots with lots more free time than brain cells.
This is bad legislation because it attempts to force certain types of technology into existence. While a government program designed to discourage people from engaging in media piracy would be a good thing, mandating that all devices have this built in is simply a way to skirt the issue while appearing to be tackling the problem.
Such a law does not stop what it is intended to stop. Pirates will still be able to break the encryption, replicate the media, and resell it on the open street in lands far away from where American law can reach. This law is useless anywhere other than America.
What you get, instead of stopping piracy, is a mandated standard form of copy encryption and DRM that may or may not be adequate for everyone's needs. Instead of letting the market figure out what forms of DRM will be used, the government decides that it's items A, B, and C that need to be addressed. Nevermind that in the future item B may no longer be useful and item D is not provided for at all.
It's unfortunate that the respectable John Conyers (D) is drafting this bill. I would have expected more from the gentleman.
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
Just a definition, from the American Heritage Dictionary:
Fascism is a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.
For all you Bush-haters, this is not a rant about Bush, because he has zero power to pass laws. This is about members of both major parties in Congress, who regularly put aside their differences to expand the state-granted power of privileged businesses at the direct expense of our rights. This is fascism, by definition, yet we keep saying, "Thank you sir; may I have another?"
The problem is that politicians need pander to voters only on two or three issues, and then are free to do whatever is most profitable to them on all other issues. You might even be able to make the argument that the "major" issues we hear Congress critters rant about (the war, social security, the war, taxes, the war) are simply a smokescreen for the corruption, because it keeps our rights off most peoples' radars.
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Yet another piece of legislation that will do nothing to stop the real pirates! Indeed, as *AA imposes more and more restrictions, inconveniences, and expense upon consumers, they will make the cheaper and relatively hassle free offerings of pirates even more compelling. It's been argued before, but it seems all too clear that the most effective way to combat piracy is to offer a better product at a reasonable price. But I guess some people just have to learn the hard way.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
This will stop people who actually want their fair use rights from making their own copies, but will do nothing to stop the people selling pirate copies on the street or the release groups putting the content on the net. I doubt there will be even a single day where releases are stopped because of this.
The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
So it applies to consumer electronics.
Not kits? How about components? Hardware hackers will be making money on the side selling stuff. Or maybe the Chinese will just make it and sell it.
Also, I remember how easy it was to mod a scanner in '93 to make it pick up cellphone signals -- just remove a single SMT resistor. This was the work of minutes. And voila -- full band reception.
So easily modded consumer goods (whatever that is) will be banned too.
This looks to be tough to enforce.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_
Keep on making shitty movies and music that suck ass, and you'll kill all motivation to illegally copy them. This is the real solution, and the MP/RI-AA is a lot closer to it than they realize.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
It doesn't. It's to prevent John Q. Public from doing anything - they couldn't care less about the random EE inclined hacker who would could patch something together.
They are our representatives, yet they don't represent us.
It doesn't matter - I haven't watched Hollywood movies or TV in the last 6 months - and you know what? I found out I don't have a need for it either. Hollywood isn't going to get another dollar of my cash nor a minute of my attention anymore (TV). That's how I'm voting from now on.
I'd rather have a good book or website or/and do something productive with my time than be a slave to the media industry anymore.
Not so much because these systems can be broken, but because it's yet another way to criminalise what you have the right for to do today. This combined with illegal evesdropping, data retention laws and other BS makes for the perfect toolset to turn each and every one of us into criminals.
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
From my point of view it is the principal that is the problem, not the implementation. Yes, the technical restrictions will be broken, but the fact that large corportations are able to purchase legislation that goes against what the (previously) law abiding public want as well as those who choose to break existing laws is extremely worrying. Copyright infringement is illegal, why introduce the DMCA's non-circumvention clause? If you're circumventing DRM in order to infringe copyright, there's a law to stop you already. If you're circumventing DRM for 'fair use' reasons then the law should be on your side. Same goes for the blank media tax that several countries now have - assume you're a criminal, charge you the money for a crime you may or may not commit. Hell, even the length of copyright is only appropriate to big business - most other professions don't continue paying for almost a century after your death, yet copyrights last that long even against the wishes of the original content creators (Happy Birthday, for a start).
Such a law does not stop what it is intended to stop. Pirates will still be able to break the encryption, replicate the media, and resell it on the open street in lands far away from where American law can reach. This law is useless anywhere other than America.
.i.e. share. These restrictions, along with big warnings along the lines of "You cannot record this program", "you do not have permission...." "It is an offense..." etc, etc, all reinforce the idea in his head that a video or sound recording is not his/hers. It is still someone elses, despite copyright law and any monies he/she may have paid for the product.
This law is in no way designed to go after the big guys. It's all about the small fish and keeping them in check.
Essentially the TV and Movie industry is terriffied that what happened to the music industry will happen to them. I.e., people will stop viewing entertainment as a commodity. Or at the very least, people will realise that the prices they pay for it are unreasonable.
How does this law try to change that? Essentially it makes it more difficult for Joe Consumer to view his music, movies, films, tv shows, etc as something he can do what he likes with,
The movie industry is afraid of what's already happened. New technologies have made people realise that information is cheap, and even cheaper to duplicate. There is no justification for charging $20 per gigabyte when I can upload terrabytes for less than a dollar. And people have realised this. Even Joe sixpack cops it after a few days in front of his computer.
But, if you can legislate, you can slow this tide and perhaps even reverse it. It is possible. Rhetoric won't make people revolt. An example of this system failing, but having lasting effects, is alcohol prohibition in the 30's. An example of this system working well( for its proponents) is the illegalisation of marijuana.
May the Maths Be with you!
The only real solution is to overthrow the capitalist giants whose sole purpose is to exploit "consumers" to make money.
But at the moment I'll settle for no DRM.
A story, care of a very smart machinist: At my grandmother's funeral earlier this year in November, I had the opportunity to meet one of my father's schoolmates who stayed in his hometown. He's 60 now, and to me, he seemed plenty sharp. He was talking to my dad and another one of my dad's friends about the machining trade, and how they're having problems getting help, because American kids aren't getting into machining. The conversation shifted to the foundries he gets his castings from. He explained that when he started getting castings from Chinese foundries a few decades ago, they sucked. Shitty casts, weak alloys, etc. But sure enough, their quality eventually equalled home grown American casts for a fraction of the cost. Guess who went out of work? Same went for his machinist tools. They went from bring short lived, cast pieces of shit to forged, superior tools.
The moral or the story? The Chinese aren't stupid, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a goddamn fool to believe they will not surpass us if we continue down the road where no one can earn a living unless their job is management of some kind. Exporting all labor will turn us back into a country of farmers, once places such as India and China figure out they no longer need us to do their own thing. I almost don't want to have children simply because if I can't escape the United States, I wouldn't want to raise a child into the situation that we both know is about to happen.
Slashdot is proof that Sturgeon's Law applies to mankind.
... as long as one proviso is added. In addition to requiring all consumer devices to honor the copyright protection system, the law must also require all consumer devices to honor all of the exceptions codified in current copyright law. In particular, devices need to detect and permit Fair Use as well as reproduction of content whose term of copyright protection has expired. The things that copyright law allows are just as important as the things it restricts, so if you're going to require device manufacturers to build devices that enforce the law, they need to enforce *all* of the law, not just most of it.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
But if you don't buy the **AA's products, the **AA will claim that they are losing money due to "piracy". They will get a law passed that requires you to buy their products. Then, if you don't buy **AA products, you will be thrown in jail.
chown -R us ~you/base
Implant DRM filters in the inner ear of every child at birth. If sound is detected the user does not own the rights too, the filter will block the audio from reaching the brain, preventing the user from enjoying the fruits of his/her piracy.
:P
Any medical doctor caught removing or offering to remove said filters will have their medical license revoked and face a huge fine and/or imprisonment.
Should also develope a video DRM filter for implant along the optical nerve. Will solve all the piracy problems.
Hey, it may sound overboard, but if the creative geniuses hadn't slaved over making it, or without the hard working efforts of the ??IAA to deliver it to you, you couldn't enjoy it in the first place. This isn't an invasion of privacy, merely a step to protect the rights and to reward the efforts of those who own that creative work. Don't blame them for protecting themselves, blame humanity for its greed. You brought this on yourselves!!
* * * * *
My sympathy to the parents of anyone who thought the above was in any way serious
that entertainment will slip out from the big companies' hands. Suddenly people will start producing creative-commons TV shows, and broadcast them over the internet.
Plus, there is a tiny detail these companies have forgotten: They can't lobby other countries. Try passing a law that forbids analog recording in Venezuela, Argentina, Indonesia or Hong Kong (not to mention the great dragon).
What will happen when the average american finds himself at disadvantage with other countries?
If TV companies insist on closing the doors to their own viewers, suddenly they'll realize they only locked themselves out.
Smart move, really.