Something i found at newgrounds

[Guest WarMachine]

Haven't seen this around, forgive me if it's been posted or if you know of it. I orignally caught wind of this at Newgrounds.com, after it was posted by Tom Fulp, one of the head guys. It concerns a bill which may become a law; This bill being about the fact that manufacturers would be forced to install hardware in newer models of computers and other devices, which would make it impossible to even *legimately* back up files onto a disc or cd. Basically, rights of "fair use" is at stake, and the government is once again at the center of these issues.

 

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There is currently something going on that everyone should be aware of. Please read this statement by my friend Rob:

 

Recently introduced legislation in the Senate by Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C. (aka "The Senator from Disney"), entitled "Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Act" is aimed at enforcing government mandated copy protection to be built into consumer devices. This means things like computers, pdas, and other home electronics will disallow copyrighted media duplication at the hardware level. No more burning either for the sake of blatant copying or genuinely backing up your media. No more MP3 ripping, etc. I don't pretend that duping copyrighted material for the wrong purposes is not wrong, but the media industries using the government to enforce the issue is. There are such things as fair use, and the legal right to back up copies. These rights are being infringed upon. Major supporters for include Walt Disney and the RIAA, major supporters against include the Business Software Alliance, the Consumer Electronics Association (as well as many technology firms in general).

 

In general this legislation will take rights away from consumers and put undue restrictions on technology companies who must now implement copy protection schemes into their products. Where do you think the money to R&D and implement this is going to come from? The media industry certainly isn't going to be paying for it. We as consumers are already paying surcharges on media products to cover the costs related to piracy.

 

Even if you are a staunch supporter of copyright, you have to realize that the government getting involved will not solve the issue. If you have a moment, drop your senators a quick e-mail. You can find them at Senate.gov.

 

BUT WAIT... There is more! Here is an update from Digital Consumer.org:

 

On March 21st, the CBDTPA became an official bill. This is bad news because it means that there's a real chance that it could become a law. Not only will this bill further erode your personal use rights, but it will mandate that every electronic media device must be built with goverment-standardized security technology. If passed, this bill will be very bad news for those of us who are concerned about our rights in the digital age.

 

Please fill out this form to have a FAX sent on your behalf:

 

http://www.digitalconsumer.org/cbdtpa/mfax.html

 

It just takes a second - so please do it!

 

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There you have it. If you disagree with these measures, then use the link directly above, to have a fax sent out in your name to the appropiate people. Thanks.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

I'm opposed to piracy by and large (I thought Metallica was right to go after Napster, for example), but this is just a horrible, horrible bill. This is yet ANOTHER area where the government, flat out, does not belong.

                                    -=Mike