Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 11:03:15 -0500 From: Bill Spornitz <spornitz-AT-mts.net> Subject: avant-garde legislation Youch! The American government (and others?) are really makin' moves this silly season. Wacky! Nutty! Far-Out! Zippy! Wiggy! Froopy! Better check this out: http://www.stoppoliceware.org/ from the site: WHAT IS THE SSSCA? The SSSCA is a bill, pushed by the entertainment industry, to be proposed in Congress by Senators Fritz Hollings (D-SC) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The acronym stands for "Security Systems Standards and Certification Act". WHAT WOULD THIS LAW DO? The law would force all new personal computers and digital home entertainment devices sold in the United States to have government-approved "policeware" built-in. This policeware would restrict your use of copyrighted material on these devices -- including music files and CD's, video clips, DVD's, e-books, and more. WHO COULD GO TO JAIL? You, if you're one of the millions of Americans who uses your computers to burn music CD's, listen to MP3's, share video files, etc. You'd face up to five years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. Think you'd be able to get around the law by removing the policeware from your personal computer? Think again -- anyone who defies the government by disabling or tampering with the policeware on their own computer, in the privacy of their own home or business, would also face five years in the slammer. Since alternative operating systems like Linux and FreeBSD would most likely refuse to incorporate government policeware into their code, users of these open-source systems would also be eligible for hard time. --- from list avant-garde-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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