Only Danny O'Brien can make reading about the undead, relentlessly stalking broadcast flag and its terrifying brethren...fun. Too bad the threat of multiple technology mandates is so very un-fun.
Writes Danny @ Deep Links:
Halloween is traditionally the time when the undead walk; preposterous monstrosities that no one could imagine living stumble and moan through the land.
So guess what the entertainment industry decided to dust off for an extra spooky session with the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday?
Why, yes, they are bringing the broadcast flag. And, certainly, there is talk of their henchmen at the RIAA clumsily re-animating their insane digital radio requirements.
But that's not spooky enough for the MPAA. For their party trick this year, they want to take one of the most basic and ubiquitous components in multimedia, and encase it within a pile of legally enforced, complex, and patented proprietary technology -- forever.
Ladies and gentlemen, the MPAA have chosen Halloween week to resurrect their most misconceived monster ever: the Thing from the Analog Hole.
Feel free to flick through this new Halloween document [PDF]: it's a legislative draft proposed by the MPAA for a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, on the topic "Content Protection in the Digital Age: The Broadcast Flag, High-Definition Radio, and the Analog Hole," on November 3rd.
Cory, meanwhile, follows up with the ever-so-delicately titled,
Hollywood after the Anal. Hole again.
Keep the torches handy. Cory promises that we'll soon have more information about who on Capitol hill supports this latest Very Bad Idea.
Update: Via the Pho list, a few more details on the MPAA's Halloween surprise: the spot where you can watch the live webcast of the hearing, plus the witness list:
- Dan Glickman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
- Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
- Gigi B. Sohn, President, Public Knowledge
- Michael D. Petricone, Vice President, Government Affairs, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on behalf of CEA and the Home Recording Rights Coalition
