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Date: | Fri, 27 May 2005 07:33:11 -0500 |
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Although there have been recent victories against pernicious legislation
to limit how we may (in the U.S.) use material broadcast on television,
Hollywood's lobbyists are busily try to get Congress to enact new
restrictions.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation explains it like this (below), and
provides an easy-to-use Web form for contacting your specific legislator.
* EFF Supporters Liberate Digital TV
Lots of people were watching television at EFF's offices
this past Saturday - not on television sets, but on
high-definition personal video recorders (PVRs) they
built themselves. EFF hosted the digital TV build-in to
celebrate the courtroom victory over the FCC's Broadcast
Flag.
As the Chicago Tribune put it, "Imagine a government
bureaucrat sitting on top of your television set to decide
if you can record a television show to watch later."
That's what the Broadcast Flag rule would have done. It
gave the FCC the power to veto new TV technologies,
whether created by consumer electronics manufacturers
or Saturday afternoon hobbyists. By beating the flag in
court, we gave manufacturers and hobbyists the right to
create the hardware and software they and their
customers want, to watch, record, and playback TV as
they choose.
Unfortunately, the Hollywood lobbyists are already back in
Washington, DC, asking Congress to give the FCC the sweeping
regulatory authority it needs to impose the Broadcast
Flag. If they succeed, it would open the door to the
government issuing blueprints for any new technology that
Hollywood considers a threat. As the Tribune reminds us,
these are the same people who fought tooth-and-nail
against the VCR - nearly killing what's now a cash cow.
If you haven't already, now is the time to visit the EFF
Action Center and tell Congress not to break your
television. Ask your representative to reject the
Broadcast Flag and any other government technology mandate
that would kill innovation at Hollywood's behest.
Give the Broadcast Flag a TKO:
<http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=129>
Chicago Tribune: "High Definition Interference":
<http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=483>
For the original version of this piece online:
<http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/003599.php>
--
Jeremy Butler
www.ScreenSite.org
www.TVCrit.org
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