Pre- and Post-Ban Computer Bill Submitted in Senate
Once known as the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act, the newly named CBDTPA says that all "digital media devices" sold in the United States or shipped across state lines must include copy- protection mechanisms to be defined by the Federal Communications Commission.The operant sections of the bill text are:
"Digital media device" is defined in a breathtakingly broad way: Any hardware or software that reproduces, displays or "retrieves or accesses" any kind of copyrighted work.
Outcry from programmers already matches the protests heard during the era of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. And Silicon Valley lobbyists, who have objected to earlier versions of the CBDTPA, denounced it again on Thursday.
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Anyone intentionally violating the CBDTPA would be subject to civil and criminal penalties, including prison terms.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON SHIPMENT IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE OF NONCONFORMING DIGITAL MEDIA DEVICES.Note that the "1202" above was "102" in the cryptome HTML. I checked the page images. It was a typo, should be "1202". The referenced United States Code sections are all in Title 17, Chapter 12, which is Chapter 12 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This places a maximum $500,000/5 year penalty on the first violation and a $1,000,000/10 year penalty on subsequent violations. Real teeth.(a) IN GENERAL. -- A manufacturer, importer, or seller of digital media devices may not --
(1) sell, or offer for sale, in interstate commerce, or(2) cause to be transported in, or in a manner affecting, interstate commerce,
a digital medial device unless the device includes and utilizes standard security technologies that adhere to the security system standards adopted under section 3.
(b) EXCEPTION. -- Subsection (a) does not apply to the sale, offer for sale, or transportation of a digital media device that was legally manufactured or imported, and sold to the consumer, prior to the effective date of regulations adopted under section 3 and not subsequently modified in violation of section 6(a).
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF SECURITY TECHNOLOGY; VIOLATION OF ENCODING RULES.
(a) REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF SECURITY TECHNOLOGY. -- No person may --
(1) knowingly remove or alter any standard security technology in a digital media device lawfully transported in interstate commerce, or
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(2) knowingly transmit or make available to the public any copyrighted material where the security measure associated with a standard security technology has been removed or altered, without the authority of the copyright owner.(b) COMPLIANCE WITH ENCODING RULES. -- No person may knowingly apply to a copyrighted work, that has been distributed to the public, a security measure that uses a standard security technology in violation of the encoding rules adopted under section 3.
SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL. The provisions of section 1203 and 1204 of title 17, United States Code, shall apply to any violation of this Act as if --
(1) a violation of section 5 or 6(a)(1) of this Act were a violation of section 1201 of title 17, United States Code; and(2) a violation of section 4 or section 6(a)(2) of this act were a violation of section 1202 of that title.
(b) STATUTORY DAMAGES. -- A court may award damages for such violation of section 6(b) of not less than $200 and not more than $2,500, as the court considers just.
American Conservative Union at CNSNews.com - Letter to President George W. Bush - urges GW to veto the unconstitutional campaign finance "reform" bill. [GOP News & Views]
We don't know which party will ultimately benefit or be hurt by this legislation and what's more, we don't care. The bill making its way to your desk completely redefines political speech and outlaws or criminalizes speech that every American has always believed to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Looked at from our perspective, you are being asked to sign a bill that tells those who might want to criticize the actions of politicians to just shut up.
We understand fully the reasons why you have taken the position up to now that Congress could not count on a Presidential veto on this legislation and must therefore work to fashion something that is fair, effective and, yes, Constitutional. Well, Congress had its chance ... and failed.
So now it's up to you!
Cheryl's Daily Diatribe at Unknown News - Rightwing Patriots Know Nothing of U.S. History, Let Alone the Rest of the World's Tale of Woe - puts the September 11 bombings in perspective. The "rightwing patriot" in question signed himself with the "f" word. If reading this would bother you, don't click. [unknown]
Paul Boutin - Hunt the Boeing" Answers - some good answers to the disturbing questions posed by Hunt the Boeing. [unknown]
Charley Reese - No Guns In The Cockpits - some rational thought on the current state of airplane security. There are federal Marhsalls on some flights. There are fighter planes in the air to shoot down planes whose Marshalls fail. Why aren't pilots armed? Why aren't citizens armed? They should be. Of course. It appears that Mr. Reese has found a new place to post regular essays, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Yay! Added to my links page. [kaba]
I say, arm the American public and then watch our country become safe and peaceful once again.
Burt Blumert at LewRockwell.com - The Neocons Turn Their Guns on LRC - Bill Bennett is back, with Lew Rockwell in his filthy sights. Help keep Lew's web site alive. Donate. [lew]
But, like the B-movie monster who refuses to stay dead, Bill Bennett not only still wants to murder Iraqi civilians, he’d like to do the same to all the peoples of the region, and everyone else in the world who won’t take orders from the DC empire. (That applies to you and me, too. He also approved the murders at Waco.)
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So Bennett, with a coterie of sinister ex-Pentagon types, lobbyists for the munitions manufacturers, and ex-CIA agents, has set up a group called AVOT, Americans for Victory Over Terrorism.
Funded by pro-war neocon billionaires like Lawrence Kadish, AVOT seeks to stamp out conservative and libertarian dissent about war, militarism, and Pentagon budgets.
AVOT wants all power to the Pentagon, perpetual war for global empire, no civil liberties for dissenters, and much more money extracted from you for bombs, spies, and foreign aid for their favored foreign governments.
Margaret Cronin Fisk at The National Law Journal - Mercury's Legal Morass - it's becoming clearer that the mercury in many vaccines is causing autism. There is a growing mass of lawsuits against the vaccine manufacturers. It appears that they have fixed the problem, but old tainted vaccines are still in use. [lew]
The vaccines sold in the United States no longer contain thimerosal, but the ingredient continues to be used in vaccines sold or donated in other nations, Redwood says. In addition, since there was no recall, vials of thimerosal- laced vaccines already purchased are still used in the U.S., she says.
Rabbi R. Mermelstein at JPFO - A Moral Man Speaks the Truth--And Apologizes for It 30 Years Later? - Why Billy Graham's remarks, that he recently apologized for, were true and not in any way anti-semitic. [jpfo]
Barry Grey at World Socialist Web Site - US oversees abduction, torture, execution of alleged terrorists - more details of the end of the rule of law at the hands of the United States.
Edifice Wrecks at smith2004 - Re: A new presidential question - Good ideas. [smith2004]
There may be ways to bind the state to a minimum. Be creative.
For example write into the Constitution a requirement that every bill proposed to Congress must be read aloud to the Senate or House as applicable by the author(s). In its entirety. It may not be debated or voted on until it has been read and no representative may vote on the bill unless he was present for the entire reading. No coffee, food, or potty breaks.
How about borrowing a page from the Medieval Icelanders. Require that every session of the legislature must opened with a reading of the Law by the Vice-President. All of it. Every single line must first be read aloud to the assembled Congress before any other business can be conducted.
