Over the summer the cartel (RIAA) has been suspiciously quiet. We haven't heard one word from Jack Valenti or Hilary Rosen. Like two rowdy children who suddenly get quiet, their silence should have raised alarms to all of us. The numbers show that file sharing is actually up since Napster halted its service, we've been hearing that movies are on the web before they hit the theatres, and yet these overpaid lobbyists have remained silent. What gives? Did they give up? No way!

Music and record industry lobbyists are quietly readying an all-out assault on Congress this fall in hopes of dramatically rewriting copyright laws, AGAIN.

With the help of Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Commerce committee, they hope to embed copy-protection controls in nearly all consumer electronic devices and PCs. All types of digital content, including music, video and e-books, are covered. This means radios, televisions, cell phones, basically anything with a microchip inside. Hard drives, CD-ROMs, floppies, you name it. We're not just talking CD Recorders, but anything that receives or uses an electronic signal. TIVO, Satellite TV, Cable,

The Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA), scheduled to be introduced by Hollings, backs up this requirement with teeth: It would be a civil offense to create or sell any kind of computer equipment that "does not include and utilize certified security technologies" approved by the federal government. According to the draft, the law would require all digital devices -- computers, software, digital audio and video recorders, digital assistants and electronic book readers -- to prevent unauthorized copying and playback by using security technologies selected by the Secretary of Commerce. The law would require devices to include all certified technologies, not just one, and would require Internet service providers and web sites to store and transmit data with them, too.

It also creates new federal felonies, punishable by five years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Anyone who distributes copyrighted material with "security measures" disabled or has a network-attached computer that disables copy protection is covered.

Hollings' draft bill, lays out $142 million funding for "COMPUTER SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAMS" with various Federal agencies and $440 million funding for RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES.

If the DMCA was a bad dream come true, this is a NIGHTMARE piece of legislation.
The way it reads, if you record a cassette tape of your favorite protected CD, to carry with you in your car, you are a criminal, because it doesn't contain the "protection" .Of course, the RIAA and MPAA will say this is considered to be ok, but like the DMCA the language is ambiguous at best, where it guarantees "fair use" but makes it illegal to use technology to obtain those fair use rights. (Just ask Dmitry Sklyarov)

This is just scratching the surface of the bill; it also includes a method for applying for anti-trust exemption for those engaged in developing the security standards to lock up the content and our culture in the process. Even fair use content.

Hollywood executives feel that without strong copy protection in widespread use, piracy will allow digital versions of movies to be pirated as readily as MP3 audio files once were with Napster. With the SSSCA enacted, the thinking goes, U.S. technology firms will have no choice but to insert copy-protection technology in ALL future products.
Under the SSSCA, the industry has a year to agree on a security standard, or the Commerce Department will step in and decide on one. Sunshine laws would not apply to meetings held in conjunction with the law, and industry organizations would be immune from antitrust prosecution.

According to non-partisan, non-profit research group Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), Hollings, in his last campaign cycle, collected more than $287,000 from the television, movie and music industries, second only to contributions of $1.2 million from attorneys and law firms.

Hearings are anticipated for October. You need to let your Senator know where you stand on this NOW, before the fact. While our Congress depends on money to get elected, they depend on your vote to get there. A quick look over your shoulder to last November points out the importance of each and every vote.