TechgnosisWeb Prime

We thought we’d gotten rid of the evil and dangerous Broadcast Flag: a piece of legislation that would make it illegal to own or create media devices that can record, download, or edit digital video or audio content, without Hollywood’s explicit approval. If the Broadcast Flag had existed 20 or 30 years ago, things like the VCR, the Walkman, the Xerox machine, your personal computer, or even the Internet, might never have been made, because they would all be illegal under the Broadcast Flag regulations.

Hollywood tried once already to take away your rights to fair use, and to basically take control of the electronics industry by making it so they can veto the creation of any new device that is even conceivably able to view, copy, or edit digital files. They tried to get the FCC to mandate the Broadcast Flag, but the Supreme Court smacked them down and told them the FCC doesn’t have the kind of authority to mandate something like that.

We thought we’d won.

But now the bastards in Hollywood are trying to ram the Broadcast Flag in through Congress, and they’re not telling anyone. Today, Tuesday, they will introduce the Broadcast Flag legislation as a minor, throwaway amendment to one of the huge appropriations bills that get passed every day. They’re basically trying to sneak the legislation in by hiding it inside another law, with no Congressional or public debate about it. We can’t let this happen: you may think I’m exaggerating, but the future of our creative rights hangs in the balance.

If you live in any of these states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, then you need to hit up this page at the EFF and contact your representative by phone, fax, or email, right fucking now.

To learn more about the Broadcast Flag and just why it is so bad, and how it would basically make so many of the devices we use every day illegal, visit here: Endangered Gizmos, by the EFF.

Please, this is a sweeping federal law that would affect all of us, including me here in Puerto Rico, yet I get no vote or voice in this. If you live in any of the states above, or you have friends or family in any of the states above, contact your representative today, right now. The vote is today. There’s no time to waste if you want to save your iPod.