The “analog hole” boogeyman has arisen, zombie-like, to feast upon the brains of our legislators in Washington—I suspect it wasn’t a particularly satisfying meal. Ars Technica is reporting that HR 4569, the “Digital Transition Content Security Act of 2005” (DTCSA) was introduced into the US House Judiciary Subcommittee last week. I won’t get into the write-up here, seeing as Eric already has a very good write-up that I just linked to.
This is a monumentally stupid piece of legislation; they basically propose to cripple the American technology industry to protect the dying business model of an industry that refuses to adapt changing times.
As Ken “Caesar” Fisher has pointed out, this really isn’t about piracy—it’s about content cartels like the MPAA wanting the ability to extract as much money from your wallet as possible. Want to time-shift? Pay up. Want to format-shift? Pay up. Want to watch or listen to it a second time? Pay up.
If any of you reading this have a Representative on the committee and you think this is as stupid as I do, I’d highly recommend giving them a piece of your mind. This bill is something that should be torn apart, burnt, the ashes scattered, and then never spoken of again.
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