National Day of Silence for Webcasters June 26, 2007
Today a nation wide protest of new webcasting rates is being observed. Webcasters are turning off their streams for a day of silence. Some are boycotting music registered with the RIAA.
From the WFMU - Beware of the Blog
“Instead of webcasting silence today, WFMU has decided to boycott all music that is registered with the RIAA and/or SoundExchange. Today, you will hear songs from live performances on WFMU, material from the public domain, orphaned works, music from bands and record labels that have signed a waiver releasing WFMU from SoundExchange’s unreasonable royalty scheme, and music from artists that SoundExchange has neglected to pay.”
Visit www.savenetradio.org for more info. Update: Links to more coverage here.
URGENT: The Broadcast Flag Is Back, Again June 21, 2006
From the EFF and BB: The RIAA and MPAA have managed to get the broadcast flag into the official Republican version of the telecoms reform bill and it’s being considered in committee tomorrow (Thursday, June 22). Senator Sununu (R-NH) has filed an amendment to get the flags thrown out. If you’re in the States below, call your Senator NOW, and ask him or her to support the Sununu amendment to remove both TV and audio flags (he also has an amendment to modify the audio flag, so be clear you want to kick out both flags).
For more info visit these links
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/21/urgent_call_now_to_s.html
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004759.php
Here is the list, call and let your voice be heard!
Chairman Ted Stevens (AK), (202) 224-3004
John McCain (AZ), (202) 224-2235
Conrad Burns (MT), Main: 202-224-2644
Trent Lott (MS), (202) 224-6253
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), (202) 224-5922
Gordon H. Smith (OR), (202) 224 3753
John Ensign (NV), (202) 224-6244
George Allen (VA), (202) 224-4024
John E. Sununu (NH), (202) 224-2841
Jim DeMint (SC), (202) 224-6121
David Vitter (LA),(202) 224-4623
Co-Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI), (202) 224-3934
John D. Rockefeller (WV), (202) 224-6472
John F. Kerry (MA), (202) 224-2742
Barbara Boxer (CA), (202) 224-3553
Bill Nelson (FL), (202) 224-5274
Maria Cantwell (WA), (202) 224-3441
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ), (202) 224-3224
E. Benjamin Nelson (NE), (202) 224-6551
Mark Pryor (AR), (202) 224-2353
Tell Your Senators to Kick Out the Flags May 6, 2006
DO IT TODAY - THIS CAN’T WAIT!!!!
This is a direct quote from EFF.orgSenator Stevens has introduced a bill that includes not just the broadcast flag, but the audio flag too. Write to your senators now, and tell them to keep the entertainment industry’s tech mandates off the law books!
“On May 1st, Senator Stevens introduced the “Communications, Consumer’s Choice, and Broadband
Deployment Act” (S.2686). Buried inside this 125 page bill is language that would create a broadcast flag in over-the-air TV transmissions, and give the FCC power to create a similar technology mandate for digital radio.If this bill were to pass, government - and the entertainment industry - would control what you could do with digital media in your home. The broadcast flag would place TV shows in a DRM ghetto, where your right to copy, back-up, sell, time-shift or convert them into formats convenient to you would be at the whim of the broadcasters. The audio flag would give the FCC matching powers over “digital audio broadcasting,” including satellite radio, digital HD radio, and potentially even Internet radio.There’s no benefit here for artists or customers, and for infringing copiers, evading these copy controls will be as easy as ever. No matter how inconvenienced individual users would be by a flag, pirates would be able to bypass it. The bill would usher in a new world of anti-consumer electronics, and a chance for the MPAA’s and RIAA’s member companies to seize even greater control over all media distribution and use.”
More info:
Video Flag (Digital TV)
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/
Radio Flag
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/?f=digitalradioflag.html
nomasteryoda - wanting to keep my rights and everyone elses!!
Net Neutrality April 28, 2006
The US Congress caved to big media again. “Net Neutrality” was given a death blow by Congress. The issue has been hotly debated by groups such as Save the Internet. People tried to get Congress to pass this legislation, but their efforts have failed.
The Internet has made things much more volitale for media and you should expect things to get much worse during the next 5 years, especially if our Governments do not care about our rights. I received a letter from my US House (more…)
Media Controls
Media Controls
There is a disturbing new technology we should all be concerned about just patented by Philips. Thought you could watch TV and skip the commercials? Well think again. The US Patent office issued a patent to Philips which would allow broadcasters of Digital TV, the new FCC mandated standard, to force consumers to either pay to skip (more…)
The Broadcast Flag is back, again March 3, 2006
In yet another attempt to strip fair use down to nothing Representative Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) has introduced the Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act of 2006, H.R. 4861, (pdf)
“To authorize the Federal Communications Commission to
impose licensing conditions on digital audio radio to protect
against the unauthorized distribution of transmitted
content.”
Notice how it says “unauthorized”. This bill could make it illegal to use your fair use rights. In order to make unauthorized, but still legal copy’s for any kind of use you would have to get permission from the copyright holder. On page 2 of the bill it says
“such licenses shall include prohibitions against
unauthorized copying and redistribution of transmitted
content through the use of a broadcast flag or similar
technology,”
The broadcast flag will take another huge chunk of fair use away. Find your Representative and let them know that you don’t want the broadcast flag. There is also a message form on the EFF action alert page where you can send your rep a letter.
There is more coverage of this story here and here. The EFF has some other alerts in the Action Center you may be interested in.
