FC: More on DMCA sequel: Security Systems Standards and Certif. Act

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Sat Sep 08 2001 - 10:56:33 PDT

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    The complete text of the draft SSSCA (2.5 MB PDF file) is now online:
    http://gnu-darwin.sourceforge.net/sssca-draft.pdf
    http://www.nullify.org/sssca-draft.pdf
    http://sites.inka.de/risctaker/sssca-draft.pdf
    http://www.parrhesia.com/sssca-draft.pdf
    
    Slashdot thread on the SSSCA:
    http://slashdot.org/articles/01/09/08/0238200.shtml
    
    Politech archive on SSSCA:
    http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=sssca
    
    EFF alert on "Canadian DMCA" -- comments due September 15:
    http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010907_eff_canada_cpdci_alert.html
    
    -Declan
    
    ********
    
    From: Larry Blunk <lblunkat_private>
    Subject: Re: [dvd-discuss] Text of draft Security Systems Standards and
    +Certification Act
    Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 23:09:34 -0700 (PDT)
    
       This is how I believe this act will play out:
    
      1) This act will sail through congress thanks to the heavy lobbying of
         the copyright cartels.
    
      2) The "industry" will adopt the Trust Computing Platfrom Alliance's (TCPA)
         (http://www.trustedpc.org) specification for PC's, and the CPRM/CPPM
         (http://www.4centity.com/tech/cprm/) specification for hard drives,
         removable storage devices, and pre-recorded media.  The TCPA spec performs
         hardware-based signature checks on software, beginning with the
         boot-loader.  The current spec allows for boot-loaders which fail the
         signature check to still load and run (with the PC in an "insecure"
         state).  With a minor modification, the TCPA spec can require that any
         boot-loader which fails the signature check will fail to run at all.
         This can be backed up by the CPRM hard-drive which will only allow a
         secure program to modify the boot-loader on the hard-drive.
    
      3) I suspect that the FBI/DOJ will not go after Linux initially (even
         though the "software" provision of the act provides them with the
         power to do so) due to the possible speech ramifications.  Linux
         will effectively be outlawed because the mandated TCPA
         PC's will only run Secure Windows.
    
      4)  After several years, the Feds will go after Linux itself due to the
         scofflaws who continue to run Linux on their pre-TCPA computers.
    
         Microsoft has a wonderful PowerPoint presentation on their designs
        to monopolize the copyright protection business via the TCPA PC at
        http://www.microsoft.com/winhec/presents/Security.zip
    
         I bet there's alot of celebrating going on in Redmond tonight now
        that the possibility of a break-up has been dismissed in favor of
        a meaningless wrist-slap, plus they are now well on their way to getting
        Linux outlawed with this act.  They also probably find a great deal of
        irony in the fact that IBM, the supposed champion of Linux, will
        have had significant hand in developing the technology which will be
        used to destroy Linux.
    
    ********
    
    From: "Thomas Leavitt" <thomasleavittat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: Sen. Hollings plans to introduce DMCA sequel: The SSSCA
    Date: Sat, 08 Sep 2001 10:50:29 -0700
    Mime-Version: 1.0
    Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
    Message-ID: <F138UkuxBhjOo1iCCEG0000f1eeat_private>
    
    Goddamn those sons of bitches. They rewrite copyright law to fuck the 
    creators, their every effort to impose copy-protection fails in the market 
    or is widely circumvented, so now they're going to use their financial 
    muscle to abuse the power of government to make copyright violation a crime 
    with greater penalties than outright highway robbery!
    
    If your average citizen truly had a voice in government, if they truly 
    mattered, this shit would be DOA. I dare the folk in Congress to go back to 
    their constituents, and explain to them face to face why they don't have 
    the right to be able to listen to the music they've paid for at both work 
    and home, without hauling CDs everywhere... why they can't record their 
    favorite tracks off their CDs onto their computer and make MP3 play 
    lists... why the can't burn a few tracks onto a CD or MP3 player and play 
    them back at a party, or in the car. That when they pay $16.99 for a CD, it 
    buy's them nothing but the hunk of plastic the music comes on, and the 
    "right" to play that CD on a industry/government approved device.
    
    The only response legislation like this deserves is massive, public civil 
    disobedience. Stand out in front of the White House, with old Intel boxes 
    running Linux and an open source MP3 ripper/player, and offer to sell them 
    to passerby. Have 500,000 individuals be formal members of a general 
    partnership (no liability shield) - force the government to throw us all in 
    jail and take everything we own. We'll see what happens then!
    
    Thomas
    --
    Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavittat_private; ICQ #16455919
    
    
    
    
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