[Discuss-gnuradio] DEADLINE Thursday: Stop the FCC "Broadcast Flag" Proposal!

[Seth Johnson]

New Yorkers for Fair Use Action Alert:
--------------------------------------

Please send a comment opposing the "Broadcast Flag" Proposal
to the FCC by this Thursday, December 5, 2002.

Tell the FCC to Serve the Public, Not Hollywood!


Okay, you folks understand this issue -- it's very important
to send word to the FCC by the public comments deadline,
this Thursday, December 5, that you OPPOSE the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking #02-230.  This rule would make it
illegal for ordinary citizens to own fully functional
digital television devices.  We've made it easy; just follow
the links below.


1) Please send in your comments to the FCC using the form
provided below.  Tell them that the movie industry should
have a special privilege to own fully-functional digital
television devices.  Read the alert below for details.

2) Please forward this alert to any other interested parties
that you know of, who would understand and see the
importance of this issue.

3) Volunteer to help us with this and other alerts related
to your rights to flexible information technology in the
future.  Two roles you can take up are to become a Press
Outreach Campaigner or a Commentator.  Simply reply to this
email to show your interest.


New Yorkers for Fair Use Action Alert:
--------------------------------------

Tell the FCC to Serve the Public, Not Hollywood!

Public Comments Needed to Stop the "Broadcast Flag" Proposal
at the FCC


Please follow this link and use the form on the Center for
Democracy and Technology's site to let the FCC know that the
public's rights are at stake:
http://www.nyfairuse.org/action/fcc.flag.xhtml.

What's Going On:

The FCC is considering a proposal that digital televisions
be required to work only according to the rules set by
Hollywood, through the use of a "broadcast flag" assigned to
digital TV broadcasts.

Through the deliberations of a group called the Broadcast
Protection Discussion Group which assiduously discounted the
public's rights to use flexible information technology,
Hollywood and leading technology players have devised a plan
that would only allow "professionals" to have
fully-functional devices for processing digital broadcast
materials.

Hollywood and content producers must not be allowed to
determine the rights of the public to use flexible
information technology. The idea of the broadcast flag is to
implement universal content control and abolish the right of
free citizens to own effective tools for employing digital
content in useful ways. The broadcast flag is theft.

In the ongoing fight with old world content industries, the
most essential rights and interests in a free society are
those of the public.  Free citizens are not mere consumers;
they are not a separate group from so-called
"professionals." The stakeholders in a truly just
information policy in a free society are the public, not
those who would reserve special rights to control public
uses of information technology.

Please go to the Center for Democracy and Technology's
Broadcast Flag Action Page and use their form to let the FCC
know that the public's rights are at stake:
http://www.cdt.org/action/copyright/.

----

Some background links:

http://bpdg.blogs.eff.org/archives/one-page.pdf
http://www.eff.org/effector/HTML/effect15.22.html#III
http://www.cdt.org/press/020807press.shtml
http://scriban.com/movabletype_archives/000334.shtml
http://scriban.com/movabletype_archives/000331.shtml

The following link is the FCC's "Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking" for the broadcast flag.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-231A1.pdf