Disney, Sony, and other record companies and movie studios want to repeal the "fair use" rights enjoyed by generations of music lovers; make music CDs unplayable in computer CD-ROM drives and legally purchased digital content impossible to copy or transfer between devices; and force the tech industry to cripple its products with built-in copy protection that benefits Hollywood and harms consumers. The tech industry is saying no, thanks, but the entertainment industry's campaign contributions have gone a long way in the U.S. Senate.

The evidence is the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA) drafted by Senate Commerce Committee chair Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), which hasn't been formally submitted yet but hung over a committee hearing last week at which Intel Corp. executive vice president Leslie Vadasz let go with both barrels. The outnumbered Vadasz hit it right on the head when he declared that Hollywood wants "to neuter the personal computer to be nothing more than a videocassette recorder" or other media playback device.

But Disney tycoon Michael Eisner seemed to find more sympathy with senators when he described the tech industry's position on piracy as "rip, mix, burn" and said the only reason he could imagine, say, Michael Dell not being eager to load his PCs with copy-protection hardware was that Dell wants to sell systems to pirates. "When Congress sits idly by in the face of these activities," agreed Hollings, "we essentially sanction the Internet as a haven for thievery."

Not Science, But Not Fiction

Basically, the SSSCA seeks to enforce rigorous rights controls on all digital devices and their software -- to make it "unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include" security systems earning Hollywood's approval. To really see this in the proper light, here's a quote from the draft legislation:

The term "interactive digital device" means any machine, device, product, software, or technology, whether or not included with or as part of some other machine, device, product, software, or technology, that is designed, marketed or used for the primary purpose of, and that is capable of, storing, retrieving, processing, performing, transmitting, receiving, or copying information in digital form.

Well, that covers everything from my PC to the clock radio on my desk. It also applies to every piece of a computer system and its software, along with any digital office equipment and maybe a few household appliances -- desktops, servers, hard disks, RAM, and anything that even comes into contact with digital information is subject to the SSSCA. To call this description all-encompassing would be the understatement of the century. But more important, what could it mean for business?

One of the first byproducts would be unimaginably higher cost, as the SSSCA would dictate an across-the-board replacement of offending hardware and software, if not the entire infrastructure of computing and the Internet. (There are certain concessions relating to timelines and grandfathering, but these mostly permit you to own older devices but not use them -- connecting an unprotected PC to a network could be a felony.)

Death To MP3 Evildoers

And the penalties aren't small potatoes: A first offense could net you a $500,000 fine and up to five years in the slammer, with any subsequent violations costing a million bucks and 10 years, respectively -- not counting actual or statutory damages that could be invoked above and beyond these penalties. In other words, the entertainment industry doesn't want to pay the tab for protecting its digital rights, so consumers and businesses will be forced to foot the bill, or face the consequences.

Think this insanity affects only DVD-R manufacturers? Think about how the SSSCA could impact areas like building, upgrading, or repairing PCs. It's hard to tell how far things could be taken, but it's entirely conceivable that entire lines of tech employment could become illegal or at least obsolete. As for programming, open-source software such as Linux would by definition become illegal (even installing it would be a felony), while other publishers would have to allow development time for even the smallest piece of C++ code to be checked for SSSCA compliance.

Another side effect Hollings's donors don't mention is the competitive position that U.S. companies would be in. Importing or exporting non-SSSCA devices would be illegal, but the compliant products that would be mandatory (though wildly unpopular) in the States would be impossible to sell elsewhere -- why a European or Asian business would choose to buy SSSCA hardware from a U.S. vendor, when standard-use alternatives would still exist, is beyond me.

Presumably, the assumption is that if Micron were hypothetically forced to add copy protection to its SDRAM modules, Samsung and other suppliers would have to follow suit to be allowed into the U.S. market. That's certainly true, but it doesn't work the other way around -- Micron would see its overseas sales plunge to zero.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

Clearly, Disney and Co. want to appropriate and exert overt control over vital computer technology in whose creation they had no part, including technology that almost no one uses for digital media playback. Corporations use their PCs for core business tasks; researchers crunch numbers; professors and students rely on them for educational purposes. Sure, there are a few college kids playing hacked movies in their dorms, but exactly how does that justify a full-scale war against all digital devices in all fields of endeavor?

For the entertainment industry to tell the incredibly large and powerful tech sector what to do takes incredible gall, and ignores the true free-enterprise profit mentality of American corporations. I believe that in order to stop the SSSCA madness, companies and institutions that rely on PCs must stand up and be counted. In the real world, the technology sector dwarfs the entertainment business, even without counting the millions of businesspeople who use technology. It makes no sense to let a mouse, even one with deep pockets, run the zoo.