I've become aware of some really terrible laws that being put together that look like they have a good chance of becoming implemented. These are laws related to information technology, specifically the Internet and copyright protection. The problem with these laws is that they have been bought and paid for by a handful of large companies of the telephone, movie, and music industries. The congressmen and senators who are voting on these bills are absolutely clueless about what the a horrible mess they are going to unleash.
If allowed to happen, we in the US will loose our edge in information technology. These bills will kill innovation. They will kill the very thing the US invented, the Internet. The average US citizen will have a fraction of the information service that the rest of the world has, or will have.
And all of this is because the traditional telephone and entertainment companies can't figure out how to change and compete. Rather than do that, they have decided to kill the Internet so they can continue their old business models.
Network Nutrality
The first major one is what is called "Network Nutrality". Congress wants to take this core prinipal of the Inetnet away from Americans. They are going to hand the Internet over to AT&T and and handful of other providors, who will then get to decide exactly what you get to use the internet for.
We are not talking about charging more for more data. We are talking about preventing you from using Skype (Voice over IP) to make free telephone calls on the Internet connection you already have and pay for. Why would these companies want to kill VoIP? Because it competes with their traditional long-distance service. These laws will allow them to look at exactly what you are using the internet for, and then either blocking, or charging extra, depending on what it is.
The problem is that on the Internet, everything is just packets. The Internet doesn't care if that packet contains an email, web page, part of a VoIP telephone call, or what. The internet's only function is to deliver packets of data as quickly and reliably as it can. How would you like it if you find one day that you can not use Skype because your ISP has decided to slow it down to where it is unusable. And then wants to charge your $10-$20 more a month to get it back?
See this web site for more information about this.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The DCMA is back, and it is worse than ever. This was a set of laws passed by Congress around 2001 and killed by the courts for being unconstitutional. This is the one that Hollywood wants. In a nutshell, you can go to prison for decades for even thinking about bypassing any copy or use protection system that Hollywood implements.
The problems are multiple. Hollywood wants to dictact how you use the content that you purchase. They tried to kill VCR's when they first came out. But the courts ruled that people have the right to time-shift TV shows and watch them when they want. Not when the TV station dictates. It is called "Fair Use". When you by a CD, why can't you play that music you bought in your car, home, and portable player? Now Hollywood wants to control when, where, and how you are to enjoy the content that YOU paid for.
Another serious problem is that the technical solutions that Hollywood has introduced are terrible and intrusive. They spy on you. They break your computers. They can do anything they want. And if you attempt to discover exactly what they are doing (even beyond their role of protecting the content from misuse), or attempt to prevent it from doing things that you feel are not right, then you are a felon and go to prison.
Let's say you buy a CD or DVD. They company that sells that can install any thing they want on it. They don't have to tell you what they are doing. They can install software on your compter that tells them everything about you. They can see what web sites you visit. They can capture your passwords. And legally, according to the DMCA, you are not allowed to even ask any questions. All these extra things they do all fall under the protection of the DMCA. It puts corporate America inside your computers, spying on you, and telling you what you can and can not do.
Read more here.
The Future
To be honest, the future of the home computer, entertainment, and the Internet in the US looks very bad right now. The telephone companies want to control where you can go on the net and what functions you use. Hollywood wants to control what goes on inside your computer.
Please write a letter to your Congressman and your two state Senators telling them to keep their paws of your Internt and computer.
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