p2pnet - rss feed: Broadcast Flag flies again
p2p news / p2pnet: Broadcast Flag is once again flying for the vested-interest music and movie cartels as they continue to try to gain total control over what consumers do online, how they do it, and with what.
“Backed by the entertainment industry, the audio and video flags are aimed at staving off piracy,” says CNET News. “The Federal Communications Commission attempted to respond to Hollywood’s concerns in November 2003 by writing rules that would render it illegal to ’sell or distribute’ any digital TV product that’s unable to quell redistribution of video clips made from recorded over-the-air broadcasts, particularly over the Internet.
“But last spring, a federal court yanked down the flag after concluding that the FCC didn’t have the authority to make such rules.”
Now, “A legislative proposal to revive a controversial anticopying system known as the broadcast flag cleared a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday, despite misgivings from some senators,” says the story.
“Referred to as the Digital Content Protection Act of 2006, the section of the wide-ranging legislation would empower the FCC to resurrect the broadcast flag for television and create another flag for digital radio,” says Ars Technica.
And to no-one’s surprise, “The audio flag provision, written by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), has the full support of the Recording Industry Association of America.”
The seriously misnamed RIAA is owned by EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France), Sony BMG (Japan and Germany) and Warner Music, the only US company.
It’s bad news for consumers and consumer electronics manufacturers, says Ars Technica, going on:
“Enacting the broadcast flag will make it easier for the MPAA and RIAA to limit how consumers view and consume media, forcing us to pay multiple times for the same content in many cases. For consumer electronics manufacturers, the flag would require them to get the FCC to sign off on any device capable of recording television or digital radio.
“Plans are for the Committee to work step-by-step through the bill over the next couple of days, so there is still a chance more consumer-friendly changes could be made. That’s why it is vital to contact Committee members over the next couple of days to let them know how consumers feel about the legislation in general and the broadcast flag in particular.”
By a startling coincidence, cartel support for Boxer is rising.
This year she’s so far received a massive $750,660 from the movie, music and tv industries, says opensecrets.com. In the 2004 cycle, she clocked up $740,260, and in 2002, $485,340.
Also See:
CNET News - Senators endorse broadcast flag plan, June 27, 2006
Ars Technica - Telecom bill chugs ahead with even stricter broadcast flag, June 26, 2006
Digg this story.
p2pnet newsfeeds for your site.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss
Mobile - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
June 28th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
“That’s why it is vital to contact Committee members over the next couple of days to let them know how consumers feel about the legislation in general and the broadcast flag in particular.”
The public has CLEARLY voiced it’s overwhelmingly negative opinion of this garbage. Why do we have to do it again?
I know why we have to do it again, it just really pisses me off.
June 28th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
“The public has CLEARLY voiced it’s overwhelmingly negative opinion of this garbage. Why do we have to do it again? ”
They KNOW the public doesn’t want it, that’s why they try to SNEAK it
June 29th, 2006 at 11:16 am
Simple:
The American legal system allows lobbying by non voters. A fundamental defect of a defective constitution.
Once a lobby wants something, they will pursue the matter until the end of time if necessary and through donations they will eventually buy the law.
The solution is sumple:
Prohibit all lobbying and non voter donations.
Prohibit the donation of voters from one jurisdiction to politician of anothe.
The problem is that the people have little or no power to change anything because the political system no longer belongs to them. It belongs to mostly useless career politicians (otherwise not employable) and the lobbies.
This is the problem #1 in America has. Bush is #2 and that is a direct result of problem #1.
But there is hope: Here in Puerto Rico we the people petitioned our legislature to authorize a referendum so the people could vote to reduce the two legislatures to one. We won (85% in favor) and by 2008 will have about half the legislators. This is step 1. Americans should do the same.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com