He used to be comic relief, he was such a caricature. I don't think he's that funny anymore. Here's more on the Fritzing of America.
How You Will be Fritzed - The specifics of the law:
Sec. 103(b) PERSONAL TIME-SHIFTING COPIES CANNOT BE BLOCKED.
No person may apply a security measure that uses a certified security technology to prevent a lawful recipient from making a personal copy for time-shifting purposes of programming at the time it is lawfully performed, on an over-the-air broadcast, non-premium cable channel, or non-premium satellite channel, by a television broadcast station (as defined in section 122(j)(5)(A) of title 17, United States Code), a cable system (as defined in section 111(f) of such title), or a satellite carrier (as defined in section 119(d)(6) of such title.)
Note the clear exclusion of premium channels like HBO. Do you like to tape The Sopranos to view later, or movies off of Showtime? Under this broadly worded law, it would be a felony to do so.
Sec. 109. Definitions
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.
Let's see, that broad definition would appear to include digital cameras, fax machines, digital cell phones, Palm Pilots, digital voice recorders, even those Timex watches that have a digital address book. Under this proposed law, usage of those devices would fall under its penalities.
So be careful what you beam to someone else with your Palm Pilot. If this law passes, it could be punishable by up to 5 years in jail and/or a half million dollar fine. That's what I call "getting Fritzed," and these are but a few small examples of the impact this potential law would have.
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