[FYI] (Fwd) Digital copyright bill may dumb down the PC

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

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Date sent:      	Tue, 28 May 2002 11:39:35 +0300
Send reply to:  	Law & Policy of Computer Communications
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From:           	Jei <jei@CC.HUT.FI>
Subject:        	Digital copyright bill may dumb down the PC
To:             	CYBERIA-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM

http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20020524S0048

Digital copyright bill may dumb down the PC


By Dickon Ross

EE Times
May 24, 2002 (9:54 a.m. EST)


Intel Corp. says PCs could be turned into “dumb terminals” if a bill
on digital copyright now before the U.S. Congress is passed.

The consumer broadband and digital television promotion bill proposes
forcing makers of PCs and other consumer electronics products to build
copy-protection technology into hardware and making it illegal to sell
equipment without it.




The bill is designed to stop the copying of films and other digital
content. But opponents say it goes too far, and a furious row has
broken out between the bill's Hollywood backers and Silicon Valley.

Senator Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., introducing the bill, said: "Any
device that can legitimately play, copy or electronically transmit one
or more categories of media can also be misused for illegal copyright
infringement, unless special protection technologies are incorporated
into such a device."

Hollings told Congress that industry negotiations to agree on a
solution "have been lagging" and "the private sector needs a nudge".

Intel says it feels so strongly about the bill that it has taken the
unusual step of protesting publicly rather than going through trade
associations. An Intel spokesman said: "Rather than allowing the PC to
do a multitude of things, [the bill] turns it into a dumb terminal
that just plays back things."

Hollings argued that his bill would stimulate the industry by
"unleashing an avalanche of digital content" and give consumers more
reasons to buy new products. The Intel spokesman said it would "stall
innovation" as consumers hang on to their older machines without the
built-in protection.

The proposed scheme would require a PC to examine digital content and
try to match it with known copyrighted material on a central database
over the Internet.

This is not yet technically feasible and also "a huge invasion of
privacy," the Intel spokesman said.

The bill follows controversy over a recent federal court judgment,
also the result of lobbying from Hollywood, that says U.S.
manufacturers of personal video recorders should provide content
holders with individual records of what users watch using the boxes.


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