May 15, 2003

Digital Freedom UPDATE: Unintended Consequences

The big newspapers in Tennessee continue to ignore the story, but NashvillePost.com, an online business news service that tends to break a lot of stories in advance of local daily The Tennessean has published an excellent story on the controversial cable industry-backed legislation making its way through the state legislature. NashvillePost.com is a subscription-only site so I can't give you a link to the story. But you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of NashvillePost.com by clicking here or going to their home page.

NashvillePost was kind enough to email me the text of the story by reporter Alexei Smirnov, provided an excellent exploration of the issue. Because NashvillePost is an online news publisher that relies on subscription revenue, I won't provide too much of the text, just some highlights, and encourage you to get a free 30-day trial subscription if you want to read the whole thing. Full disclosure: I provided reporter Alexei Smirnov some assistance in researching the story, though I am not quoted in it.

The story cites “mounting opposition from the Nashville high-tech community,” and reports on critics’ concerns that the bill’s broad language. The bill would make it a criminal offense to use such blatantly illicit devices as the “black box” to view cable programming without paying for it. But the broad language would also give cable companies the power to effectively declare any future computer gadgets illegal.

Rep. Rob Briley (D-Nashville), who is sponsoring the bill in the House, told NashvillePost.com that is intentional. The Telecom Theft Act of 1996 lists specific devices that are illegal if used in certain ways. That, says Briley, gives a potential cable thieves a roadmap to get around the law.

My comment: Unfortunately, the broad language of the new legislation would give the cable company unchecked power to use civil and criminal proceedings against customers who used the cable signal they have paid for in ways not expressly authorized by the cable company. And possession of an unauthorized device, under the legislation, creates the inference of intent to defraud the cable company. Hence, the cable industry - which is developing its own digital video recorder - could declare the TiVo digital video recorder “unauthorized,” and use the threat of civil litigation and criminal prosecution to encourage customers to rent the cable company’s DVR instead. Likewise, the cable company could declare “Wi-Fi” Internet devices unauthorized, barring customers from using the inexpensive devices to share their cable broadband Internet access with more than on PC in the home.

Also in the story: Vanderbilt University is opposing the legislation. VU lobbyist Betty Nixon says the bill has “problems.” Vanderbilt in recent years has become heavily involved in software and Internet-based research and Nixon says the university is concerned the legislation might unintentionally criminalize the work of software developers who build firewalls and encryption tools.

There’s more. Get yourself a free 30-day trial and read the whole thing.

For my previous post on this subject, click here and follow the links.