Fwd: Hollings Bill

[Lee]

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: Hollings Bill
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 10:52:27 -0400
From: Lee <rathaus at gtcom.net>
To: linux-users at linux-sxs.org


I e-mailed my senator, Bill Nelson ,one of the co-sponsors of the Hollings
scheme to hand over the desktop market to Gates in the guise of protecting
the copywrites of DVD movie cretins. Most of his answer is baffgarb  but it
does indicate that a lot of senators only bothered to listen to the movie
industry side of it. I think what is needed is a little consumer input from
around the country and world.

Lee






----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: Re: www_email
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 09:52:07 -0400
From: <senator at billnelson.senate.gov>
To: <rathaus at gtcom.net>


October 3, 2002



Mr. Lee McKnight
104 Earl King St.
Apalachicola, Florida  32320


Dear Mr. McKnight:

Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 2048, the Consumer Broadband and
Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA), formerly known as the Security
Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA).

For many years, content developers and holders and consumer electronic
manufacturers have discussed how to protect copyrighted content in the
digital world.  Although representatives from these industries continue to
work together to find a solution, they have not yet achieved consensus on
how to best solve the problem.  Meanwhile, thousands of movies and
hundreds of thousands of songs, video games and software programs are
illegally traded every day on the Internet.

Recent advances in technology pose new challenges to copyright protection.
Full-length movies and video games can be downloaded illegally in several
minutes for little or no cost.  Products developed by our country, and
others around the world are being stolen because important guidelines have
not been implemented to protect these products.

For these reasons, some content providers are now asserting that they can
no longer wait for a solution from the industry itself, and that the
situation requires legislation to force relevant industrial sectors to
find a reasonable and balanced solution.

To respond to those concerns, Senators Fritz Hollings and Ted Stevens
recently introduced legislation (S. 2048) that establishes a timeline for
representatives from digital media device manufacturers, consumer groups
and copyright owners to come to a consensus on what technologies should be
implemented to best enforce the nation's copyright laws. If
representatives do not reach a consensus during one-year after enactment
of this legislation, the bill requires the Federal Communications
Commission to make a determination about which technology could best
accomplish this goal, and then implement necessary regulations.

Although I want industry to reach its own consensus on how to best solve
the piracy problems on the Internet, I cosponsored S. 2048 because I
believe the legislation will assist these groups in coming to such
agreement.  While the Senate considers this legislation, I plan to
continue to work with industry in examining these issues to ensure that
the all players involved, including consumers, will be protected in the
process.  During these negotiations, I will continue to keep your concerns
in mind.

Please feel free to contact me in the future.
Please do not reply to this message.  The e-mail address
senator at billnelson.senate.gov is no longer valid for incoming messages.
If you would like additional information or would like to contact me in
the future, please visit my website, http://billnelson.senate.gov, and
click on the link marked "Contact Bill".

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