Horror Triple Bill for Digital Technology
 

From EFFector 18.37 11/04/2005
www.eff.org

This Thursday, the heads of the MPAA and RIAA presented to
the House Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and
Intellectual Property their plans for the future of digital
technology. They gave the House drafts of three bills they
would like passed: the Analog Content Protection Act, the HD
Radio Content Protection Act, and the Broadcast Flag
Authorization Act. These proposed laws are truly a horror
triple bill.

For high-definition television (HDTV), the MPAA demands every
receiver must have, and obey, their broadcast flag. For new
radio technologies, the RIAA will restrict you to recording
radio shows for a minimum of 30 minutes, for a maximum of 50
hours. And all analog to digital video conversions will be
forced to watch for, and obey, a concealed signal, refusing
to digitize any image that contains a key watermark.

If any one of these provisions passes, it would be disaster
for you and for innovation.