House version of digital rights management legislation by Senate ...
House version of digital rights management legislation by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) is in works. Rep. Schiff (D-Cal.), freshman member from Burbank, distributed Dear Colleague letter Wed. soliciting support for bill he said would be based on…
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Hollings’ S-2048. “The promise of the Internet has not been fully met,” he wrote: “Congress has recently debated ways to better serve our constituents by improving access to broadband Internet service, yet the demand for this technology is severely lacking.” He said the reason for that “has become very clear” -- content producers “have been hesitant to offer their products over the Internet out of fear of piracy -- intellectual theft. And their fear is justified.” Schiff’s 27th congressional district includes Disney and ABC studios, as well as Warner Bros., NBC and DreamWorks SKG. S-2048 would mandate that private sector develop software and hardware copyright solution for every digital consumer electronics product in 18 months, or have FCC design one for such products. Bill has strong support in Senate Commerce Committee but for most part is opposed by Senate Judiciary Committee members, including Chmn. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has vowed bill won’t pass. Web site set up to receive comments on issue by Judiciary Committee, we're told, has received more than 1,800 comments in last 2 weeks, with vast majority of them opposed to S-2048.