Tag: Super-DMCA

The Tennessee Super-DMCA is back. Here’s the text of the latest version. Like the previous version, which died in a past legislative session, this bill looks like an attempt to broaden existing bans on unauthorized access to cable TV and phone service. The old version was much too broad. The new version is worded more…

Louis Trager at the Washington Internet Daily reports that the Texas Super-DMCA bill appears to be dead, as this year’s legislative session ended without any action on the bill. There is still a small risk that it will be considered in special session, but the governor’s office says he does not intend to call such…

Colorado governor Bill Owens has taken the Rocky Mountain News’ advice and vetoed his state’s Super-DMCA bill. Linda Seebach writes: In his veto message [Owens] said the bill “could also stifle legal activity by entities all along the high tech spectrum, from manufacturers of communication parts to sellers of communication services.” He urges the legislature,…

The Texas version of the Super-DMCA has been passed by the relevant committees in both the state House and Senate. It will probably come to a vote in the Senate later this week. If you’re a Texas resident, this would be good time to contact your state senator!

Giles Hoover writes that the Florida version of the Super-DMCA has been put on a fast-track “Special Order Calendar”, to be voted on tomorrow. Florida residents, call your representatives and weigh in on this bill!

The Texas state legislature has reportedly suspended its rules today in order to consider the Super-DMCA legislation without the usually-required five days advance notice. This looks like an attempt to get the bill passed without allowing opponents a chance to properly debate it. The legislative hearing is expected to start around 6:00 PM (Central time)…

Tom Liston, the author of the award-winning LaBrea security software, has announced that he will no longer make LaBrea available, because of concerns over the Super-DMCA, which has already become law in his native Illinois. Network administrators can use LaBrea to set up a kind of virtual tarpit that entangles attempts by outsiders to scan…

This week, the MPAA reportedly has narrowed its Super-DMCA legislation yet again, this time to add special carve-outs to protect ISPs and telephone companies. This is supposed to improve the bill. Actually, the carve-outs probably make the bills worse. One of the principal criticisms of the previous version is that it was too tilted in…

Some assertions demand a detailed rebuttal, and others just speak for themselves. A story by Louis Trager in today’s Washington Internet Daily quotes MPAA Vice President Vans Stevenson on their next revision of the Super-DMCA: Anyone who opposed the bills must be “against shoplifting laws that would punish someone from stealing a movie at Blockbuster,”…

One of the mysteries surrounding the Super-DMCA is what its purpose might be. The arguments in favor of it are all vague, amounting to nothing more than “If you dislike piracy, you should support this bill.” There are, of course, plenty of laws that already ban various types of “piracy.” There are laws against computer…