Tauzin Says Congress Will Have to Legislate Digital Piracy Flap (Bye-Bye To Your Recording Rights?)

Mediaweek.com ^ | July 15, 2002 | Todd Shields

[Timesink]

BREAKING NEWS FROM ADWEEK ONLINE*MEDIAWEEK ONLINE*BRANDWEEK ONLINE --

Tauzin Says Congress Will Have to Legislate Digital Piracy Flap

Private industry has failed to agree on how to protect digital-TV broadcasts from Internet piracy, so Congress will move to impose standards, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), the chairman of the powerful House Commerce Committee, said Monday.

Tauzin, who has been pushing for movement in the much-delayed transition to digital television, spoke upon emerging from a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting of broadcasters, movie studio executives, consumer group representatives and officials of the computer and consumer electronics industries.

Tauzin said he had told his committee's staff to begin drafting legislation to create a copy-protection standard. Such a standard is considered necessary because movie studios and networks may withhold digital programming if it is vulnerable to piracy.

Tauzin said he would seek hearings in September. He invited industry figures to continue working toward the compromise that has eluded them since cross-industry negotiations commenced in November, and indicated such an agreement could yet be incorporated into legislation.

"If they have a compromise we'll have less work to do," Tauzin said. "If they don't, well do it for them." -- Todd Shields

[Don Joe]

"I've been watching this guy Tauzin for a while. There is no doubt in my mind that he has been in the pocket of the regional Bells (i.e SW Bell, Verizon etc.) and against the interest of the inter-exchange carriers (i.e. AT&T and others). I think this guy has a lot of power and a lot of clout and is for sale to the highest bidder."

He's also very spam-friendly. Do a Google Usenet search for: Tauzin spam DMA.

[Don Joe]

"But then again I doubt Billy is too concerned about my privacy rights vs the governments new technology to listen in either."

He's interested in passing a law (HR95) that contains this revolting gem:

(3) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail can be an important mechanism through which businesses advertise and attract customers in the online environment.

I think that's all anyone really needs to know about the guy to form an accurate opinion of which end of the DMA's tuckus his head is shoved.

[rdb3]

Tauzin said he had told his committee's staff to begin drafting legislation to create a copy-protection standard.

Hmmm... I wonder how long it'll take me to reverse engineer this new standard.

Probably an hour.

[rdb3]

Well, as the hackers say, "If it's makeable, it's breakable."

That's exactly right. And, if it can be compiled, it can be decompiled.