IP: : The Register sees big danger in CBDTPA bill

[David Farber <dfarber () earthlink net>]

-----Original Message-----
From: richard pauli <rpauli () speakeasy org>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 22:10:32 
To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: The Register sees big danger in CBDTPA bill

The Hollings bill would require that "anything that can record or store 
digital information must be equipped with copy-prevention 
technology".   The British site, The Register, is strident in tone, but 
they make some good points.

RP

=======================
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24616.html

Operation Enduring Valenti
By Richard Forno

The United States is engaged in a war against oppressive regimes run by 
ignorant fanatics barely able to comprehend the intricacies of modern 
society. Through actions favoring the ruling class, secret midnight deals, 
and restricting public distribution of information, citizens in these 
societies are unable to evolve and live as productive members of the 
international community. In Afghanistan, this was evidenced by the 
philosophy and practices of the now-defunct Taliban. Unfortunately, this 
damn- the-consequences Fundamentalist mindset has spread to America in the 
entertainment industry's war on progress and human evolution.

In this case, the folks in question are led by Senator Ernest "Fritz" 
Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) who serves as the duly- appointed 
Congressional mouthpiece (and wholly-owned subsidiary) of the entertainment 
industry cartels, having received nearly $300,000 in campaign funding from 
Hollywood since 1997. Known in some circles as the 'Senator From Disney,' 
Hollings also bears a striking resemblance to a younger Jack Valenti. 
(Valenti, for those unaware, is CEO of the movie industry's lobby group and 
the founder of the 'Church of Valenti' - a cash-rich for-profit religious 
cartel that opposes any paradigm- or time-shifting technologies.)

Brainwashed by the Gospel of Valenti, the goal of Hollings and his Senate 
supporters is simple. Under the guise of 'preserving America's intellectual 
capital' and supported by the funding of the entertainment industry 
cartels, they seek to sustain the entertainment industry's Industrial Age 
business model (and monopolies) in the modern Information Age - where such 
models are rendered obsolete by emerging technology. By doing so, these 
elected puppets of Hollywood will continue earning campaign contributions 
and ensure their job security.

-- snip --

According to Hollings, the lack of 'ubiquitous protections' has led to a 
'lack of [high-quality] digital content on the Internet - apparently he 
doesn't believe that consumers are interested in any 'high-quality digital 
content' outside of what is produced by the major entertainment industries. 
Forget the garage band in Miami or the two teenagers producing an hour-long 
movie describing adolescent depression shot with Dad's camcorder during 
Spring Break, or WashingtonPost.Com. Hollings' interpretation of the Gospel 
of Valenti is that if a digital content didn't come from an entity 
supporting the entertainment industry cartels it must not be a worthwhile 
product. Unfortunately, many folks are of the belief that since we don't 
require such 'security' measures for handguns (something that can kill 
people) so why have such measures on electronic media which educates and 
entertains them?

-- snip --

It should also be noted that with the exception of one executive from 
Intel, every person invited to testify on the proposed CBDTPA was from the 
entertainment industry....there were no artists, musicians, producers, or 
consumers invited. So much for this being a 'consumer-friendly' bill.

-- snip --

Under the unpronounceable CBDTPA, anything that can record or store digital 
information must be equipped with copy-prevention technology. Thus, under 
CBDTPA, nearly all existing electronic devices such as personal computers, 
mainframes, camcorders, servers, MP3 players, home stereos, VCRs, car 
stereos, pocket calculators, wristwatches, cellular phones, microwave 
ovens, CB radios, cameras, electronic thermostats, CD recorders, 
photocopiers, fax machines, televisions, and rectal thermometers - would 
become illegal.

-- snip --

The most striking aspect of CBDTPA and its cousin, the still- controversial 
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) is that both automatically 
outlaw what might be done by someone, and not what actually is done. Both 
initiatives presume the citizen guilty until proven guiltier, not in the 
eyes of the court, but by the pre- emptive whims and desires of 
corporations seeking to maintain control over consumers and their crumbling 
Industrial Age business models. In essence, they pre-emptively criminalize 
what MIGHT happen, as opposed to what DOES happen (e.g., knowing how to 
kill someone is not by itself illegal; but committing murder is, and being 
proven to have done so carries harsh penalties).

-- snip --

According to some reports, America's domestic spending on computing 
technology is over $600 billion a year, while Hollywood generates a measly 
$35 billion to the national economy. CBDTPA would effectively compell a 
huge, dynamic industry - composed of large and small companies, 
individuals, and academic researchers - to redefine itself simply to 
preserve the obsolete business models of the American entertainment industry.

-- snip --

Unfortunately for Americans and the people of the world embracing the 
digital environment for any and all lawful purposes, the goals of Hollings 
and his supporters - brainwashed by the Church of Valenti - run contrary to 
everything the Internet stands for. CBDTPA and the Church of Valenti 
represent a fundamental threat to the future of modern information society; 
their goals are to effect electronic martial law on all information 
resources and implement draconian measures on today's information society 
for no other reason than to satisfy the profiteering desires of the 
entertainment moguls desperately trying to keep their crumbling Industrial 
Age business models from evolving into the Information Age.




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