Stop the implementation of the Consumer Broadband Digital Television Promotion Act, because it promotes the use of policeware that violates the 4th ammendment.

Essay by glengem December 2003

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Because of the proliferation of the use of the Internet to distribute programming to the masses has created a open market for which regulation is almost impossible Congress is proposing to implement legislation that will install hardware that will disable any software that plays multimedia or unauthorized software. Because this assumes that everyone electronic equipment will have broadband this legislation leaves major holes how to implement such a plan to distribute broadband to the masses. The legislation is, "The CBDTPA is a bill (S. 2048) proposed in Congress by Senators Fritz Hollings (D-SC) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), along with Senators Daniel Inouye (D-HI), John Breaux (D-LA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The acronym stands for "Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act". Note that the CBDTPA was originally known as the "SSSCA" while in draft form.

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.

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...