INTERNET & Digital FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE

First of all I want to give my sincere thanks to the Berkman
Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Their
latest newsletter, The Filter (issue No. 50) is the source
for all of the factual information listed here. The opinions
are my own.

The biggest threat to the internet and the open distribution of
information is the entertainment industry.

Now down to business. Boycott Sony and ANY other company that
sells music CDs that will not play on your computer. A recent
release of a Celine Dion CD sold in Europe is copy protected and
will not play on a PC. In addition, it will cause your system to
crash and lock up. If we put up with this they will only become
more mean-spirited and controlling. This is a TEST to how far
consumers can be pushed.

Anything digital can eventually be copied. The entertainment
industry has lost the battle unless they can persuade government
to institute the most Draconian methods possible. Digital means
a whole new paradigm where newer, and more creative, models are
required. Instead of looking at newer business models the enter-
tainment industry is seeking to mold the information revolution
into a contorted shape that will only serve their purposes.

Michael Eisner of Disney is also waging a high profile battle for
restrictive copy protection advocating for such technology to be
manufactured into computers and software.

Where is all of this headed? The internet and the information
technology revolution is in danger of being yanked out of the
hands of the people, and turned into nothing more than a revenue stream.

I am calling for a world-wide boycott of companies that are
selling CDs that can not be played on a computer (without the use
of proprietary software available from the producer or some
other ruse), and that disable our ability to make copies of
the music we buy.