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              | Date: 1998-06-07 
 
 net§copyright§gesetze: ACLU & EFF sagen threat to to privacy-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
 
 q/depesche 98.6.7.1
 
 net§copyright§gesetze: ACLU & EFF sagen threat to privacy
 
 Genau gesagt handelt sichs um den sogenannten WIPO Copyright Treaties Implementation Act.So schauts
 aus: Mucho Rechte für die Copyright§inhaber & Medien§knechte - mini für die Intelligenz.
 
 
 from Barry Steinhardt <Barrys@eff.org> via Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
 
 The Electronic Frontier Foundation                      The American Civil Liberties Union
 1550 Bryant Street, Suite 725                           122 Maryland Ave, NE
 San Francisco, CA  94103                                Washington, DC  20002
 (415) 436-9333                                          (202) 544-1681
 
 
 June 4, 1998
 The Honorable Tom Bliley
 United States House of Representatives
 Washington, D.C. 20515
 
 
 Dear Representative Bliley,
 
 We write to you on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and
 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to urge you to reject H.R. 2281,
 the WIPO Copyright Treaties Implementation Act.
 H.R. 2281 poses a direct threat to the free speech and privacy rights of
 online users.  It would over-regulate emerging technologies, eliminate
 existing privacy protections, outlaw reverse engineering that is necessary
 for system security, outlaw system security measures such as encryption,
 and weaken fair use privileges.  While proponents of the bill describe it
 as a compromise measure, the only thing being compromised is the
 well-established balance between content owners and content users in the
 digital world.
 Three sections of the bill are especially threatening to privacy, free
 speech, and computer security:
 
 Section 1201 makes the use, manufacture or sale of any technology that can
 be used to circumvent copyright protections illegal.  A host of vital
 technologies, equipment and processes can be used for, but are not intended
 to be used for, such abuse, and Congress should not outlaw them any more
 than you should outlaw the making or sale of crowbars or baseball bats
 because they can be used for vandalism.  This section will:
 
 · Make it illegal for a user to circumvent technological protections put on
 his own materials by a piece of equipment.  Many digital recorders forbid
 the making of any digital copies, including copies of a user's own
 creations.  H.R. 2281 would make the circumvention of these technological
 measures, and the manufacture of devices that would facilitate this
 circumvention, criminal.
 
 · Criminalize the manufacture, import, or use of tools necessary to perform
 research in cryptography.  Under H.R. 2281, the manufacture of software
 tools that test the viability of a proposed encryption algorithm would be
 prohibited.
 
 · Impede the ability of system operators to find and correct weaknesses in
 their systems.  System operators have important, legitimate reasons to
 attempt to circumvent such access control technologies to confirm the
 security of the password file or other vulnerable elements of the system.
 They must be able to use or create software that circumvents access control
 technologies to determine the robustness of the security system.
 
 · Prevent computer users from protecting their privacy online by removing
 "cookies"--files automatically and covertly placed on users' computers by
 web site programs--from their computer.  Additionally, if cookies are used
 as a copyright protection system, it would be unlawful to manufacture a
 device that removes the cookie from the system.
 
 Section 1202 allows for the collection of personally identifiable
 information as part of the Copyright Management System.  This section will:
 
 · Allow content owners to collect personally-identifiable information about
 users who access their copyrighted works.  This will eliminate anonymous
 reading and allow content owners to track not only which online magazines
 citizens buy, but also which articles they read and which pictures they
 look at.
 
 Section 201 encourages system operators to violate the privacy and
 protected speech rights of their users.  This section will:
 
 · Exempt service providers from liability if they disable access to or
 remove material claimed to be infringing, regardless of whether the
 material or activity is ultimately determined to be infringing.  This
 encourages them to remove potentially protected speech without any real
 proof of infringement.
 
 · Permit service providers to violate users' privacy by sifting through
 customers' electronic files, documents and e-mail looking for potential
 infringements.
 Indeed, the restrictions on privacy rights and tools contained in this bill
 run contrary to the efforts of members of Congress and the Administration
 to provide adequate privacy protections in the digital world.
 H.R. 2281 goes beyond what is required by the WIPO treaties and expands the
 scope of current copyright law by punishing anyone who circumvents
 technological measures that protect copyright, regardless of whether there
 was any intent to infringe.  This bill also would impose penalties on those
 who make or distribute technologies capable of breaking copyright
 protections.  These classifications are broad and vague and could apply to
 computer manufacturers, software companies, and many others engaged in
 legitimate businesses having nothing to do with encouraging copyright
 infringement.
 A bill that does a much better job of striking the balance between content
 owners and information users in the digital world is the Digital Era
 Copyright Enhancement Act, H.R. 3048.  Sponsored by Representatives Boucher
 and Campbell, H.R. 3048 is a comprehensive bill that would encourage the
 development of new technologies and markets for copyrighted works in
 digital form.  H.R. 3048 would punish the behavior of circumventing
 copyright protections with the intent to infringe on another's copyright,
 rather than outlawing all devices that could be used for circumvention.
 In addition, H.R. 3048 updates Section 107 (Fair Use) and other sections of
 the Copyright Act to ensure that libraries, students, educators, and
 nonprofit organizations enjoy the same limited freedoms to use copyrighted
 materials they have in the nondigital world.  Teachers could make limited
 copies of classroom materials for distance learning, where their
 "classrooms" are expanded over the Internet, without fear of copyright
 infringement.  Librarians and other archivists could update obsolete
 storage media (such as microfiche) to newer, more efficient digital media.
 
 The WIPO Copyright Treaties Implementation Act, H.R. 2281, is a dangerous
 bill that will undermine the delicate balance that has been struck in over
 200 years of copyright history in this country.  EFF and the ACLU urge you
 to vote against H.R. 2281.
 
 If we can provide you with additional information, please do not hesitate
 to contact either of us at the numbers above.  Thank you for your
 consideration of our concerns.
 
 
 Respectfully yours,
 
 
 Barry Steinhardt
 President,EFF
 
 
 Laura Murphy
 Director ACLU Washington Office
 
 Barry Steinhardt                        East Cost Phone  212 549 2508
 President                               East Coast Fax   212 549 2656
 Electronic Frontier Foundation          West Coast Phone 415 436 9333 ext 102
 1550 Bryant St. Suite 725               West Coast Fax   415 436 9993
 San Francisco, CA 94103         <http://www.eff.org>
 Barrys@eff.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 edited by Harkank
 published on: 1998-06-07
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