Why the SSSCA must be stopped

Do you want to pay more and get less?

ObDisclaimer: I have not read the text of the SSSCA and am going on the basis of the articles posted about it.

The SSSCA, in a nutshell, aims to ensure that copy protection devices are built-in to all sorts of products that can work with digital media. These devices need to be certified by the Department of Commerce, and any attempts to remove or disable them would be a violation of the law.

Someone would need to produce those devices, and they are an additional component to the components already in our home media devices. There will be a cost associated with the certification process. New component + certification means that just about every electronic device you buy for the home is going to cost more than it did before. What does that additional cost get you?

Basically, you get the same movies and music you always have. But, you can make an extra copy of that song to listen to in your car. When everything’s digital, you won’t be able to lend that movie or book to a friend. You won’t be able to sell it on the used market. You won’t be able to make a backup in case your original one gets destroyed. And, because of copyright term extensions that just keep favoring the big corporations, you’ll probably never see Gone With The Wind enter the public domain.

There are many legitimate reasons to be able to make a copy of something or to transfer your original to someone else. If the DMCA is allowed to stand and the SSSCA is allowed to pass, all of these abilities that we’ve had along the way will be gone. If copyright term extensions continue to happen, we will lose the potentially giant piece of culture that we could get from the public domain. If they could do it, the media companies would control everything you see, hear and read (plus how and when you do so). That can only happen if we allow them to control our government. So, please stay involved.

P.S. This is a US issue right now, but you can bet that other countries will be pressured into adopting laws like this as well. With billions at stake, the big media companies will doubtless invest in expanding their control.