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[FYI] (Fwd) Webnoize: Hollings schedules SSSCA hearings October 25
- To: debate@lists.fitug.de
- Subject: [FYI] (Fwd) Webnoize: Hollings schedules SSSCA hearings October 25
- From: "Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>
- Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 18:50:44 +0200
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 17:53:13 -0700
From: "Karsten M. Self" <kmself@ix.netcom.com>
To: Free Software Business <fsb@crynwr.com>
Subject: Webnoize: Hollings schedules SSSCA hearings October 25
Mark Lewis of Webnoize reports that hearings on the SSSCA ("Security
Systems Standards and Certification Act") are scheduled for October
25. Public and fair-use interests not invited.
Background:
The SSSCA is legislation authored by Senators Hollings (D-SC) and
Stevens (R-AK) that would mandate copy prevention controls on every
piece of electronic hardware, and every computer program, with no
exceptions. It was first publicized in early September. Sponsorship
appears to come from Disney corporation.
The law would make illegal a broad range of hardware, and would
effectively render the burgeoning free software movement a criminal
movement. The focus on digital television, and language in the
statute on "time shifting", also appears to ban such pedestrian
activities as recording programs for repeated playing from TV
broadcasts. This language has *not been revised*, according to
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=14477
Hollings Sets Hearing on Copy Control, Explains Need for New Law
Executives from Walt Disney, News Corp. and Thomson Multimedia
will testify next week on Capitol Hill on the need for a proposed
bill that ensures that computers and digital devices prevent
individuals from making unauthorized copies of media, whether the
content is copyrighted or not.
Scheduled for October 25, the Senate Commerce Committee hearing
will provide the first congressional forum to probe Disney's and
News Corp.'s support for an unintroduced draft bill that would
require all hardware manufacturers, networking companies and web
sites to use security technologies approved by the federal
government.
Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC) drafted
the bill, called the Security Systems Standards and Certification
Act, at the urging of Disney and News Corp., which have sought new
legal guarantees for the protection of digital movies and digital
TV broadcasts. A Senate source said it hasn't been determined
whether the bill will be introduced in the remaining weeks of this
congressional session. The bill's draft language, first reported
by Webnoize, hasn't been revised [see 09.7.01 Hollings' Draft Bill
Presents Radical Changes to Hardware and Copyright Law, Document
Shows].
...
Some computer and electronics attorneys believe their industries
might eventually agree to a bill that only establishes
copy-control for digital video and requires technology to prevent
consumers from distributing digital TV files through the Internet.
Closing that loophole is a problem because digital TV is broadcast
without any encryption. Some industry attorneys believe that a law
is needed to force manufacturers to build sets and recorders that
use encryption, because a licensing system to require encryption
could run afoul of antitrust law.
...
Hollings' letter, which was also sent to lobbying groups the
Business Software Alliance and the Consumer Electronics
Association, chastised the organizations for offering their
leaders to testify at the October 25 hearing, but not senior
executives from member companies. Members include 3Com, Apple,
IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sony Electronics and hundreds of others.
...
Disney and News Corp. secured witness spots for their top
executives -- Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner and News
Corp. Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin. Other conglomerates'
studios, notably Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures and AOL Time Warner's
Warner Bros., haven't chimed in to support the bill, having
already agreed to use encryption co-developed by Matsushita, Sony,
Hitachi, Intel and Toshiba for movies delivered over cable and
satellite systems.
Thomson, the French electronics giant, snagged a witness spot for
Jim Meyer, the firm's highest-ranking American and a special
advisor to Thomson's chairman. Eager to accelerate its digital TV
business and protect its MP3 audio business, Thomson is taking a
careful political position on the issue.
...
Non-profit public interest groups haven't been invited to the
hearing, which has motivated them to take action. The Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF) is drafting a letter to Hollings asking
that the EFF, librarians or consumer groups be included, according
to Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney for the
EFF.
Branding the bill "DMCA 2," after the highly controversial Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the EFF states on its web site
that Hollings' bill would eliminate the "preservation or
protection of fair use, first sale, the public domain, or any of
the other rights reserved for the public by copyright law."
"We're also talking to other interested parties, including the
Consumer Electronics Association, the Home Recording Rights
Coalition, and ACM [Association for Computing Machinery], as well
as several technology companies, about the possibility of building
a broad coalition to oppose the bill," emailed von Lohmann.
The hearing is called "Promoting Broadband: Securing Content and
Accelerating the Transition to Digital Television." At press time,
the hearing had not been postponed due to a clean-up project to
remove anthrax bacteria sent to the office of Sen. Tom Daschle
(D-S.D.), the Democratic majority leader.
For additional background, see:
Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (Full Text)
http://cryptome.org/sssca.htm
Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (Analysis)
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/hollings.090701.html
EFF Alert: Defeat SSSCA:
http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010921_eff_sssca_alert.html
USACM letter to Sen. Hollings criticizing draft SSSCA bill
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02591.html
http://www.acm.org/usacm/SSSCA-letter.html
Sen. Hollings plans to introduce DMCA sequel: The SSSCA
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02483.html
Anti-SSSCA petition asks Congress not to pass draft bill
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02488.html
Hollywood lobbyists laud SSSCA as "exceedingly reasonable" bill
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02499.html
--
Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com>
http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Home of the
brave
http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/ Land of the
free
Free Dmitry! Boycott Adobe! Repeal the DMCA!
http://www.freesklyarov.org
Geek for Hire
http://kmself.home.netcom.com/resume.html
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