Today on Fritz’s Hit List: Big Mouth Billy Bass.
That’s right, your favorite wall-hanging, singing, dancing, animatronic fish qualifies for regulation as a “digital media device” under the Hollings CBDTPA. If the CBDTPA passes, any new Billy Bass will have to incorporate government-approved copy restriction technology.
Fight piracy – regulate singing fish novelties!
=======
What is Fritz’s Hit List?
Most readers have probably heard me, or someone like me, say that the Hollings CBDTPA has far-reaching effects – that it would regulate virtually all digital devices, including many that have nothing at all to do with copyright infringement. Though this argument is right, it is too abstract to capture the full absurdity of the CBDTPA’s scope.
To foster reasoned debate on this topic, I’m inaugurating a new daily feature here at freedom-to-tinker.com, called “Fritz’s Hit List.” Each entry will give an actual example of a device that would meet the CBDTPA’s definition of “digital media device” and would thereby fall under the heavy hand of CBDTPA regulation.
I’ll post a new example every weekday for as long as I can keep it up. Please email me if you want to suggest an example. (I have plenty of good ones in the queue already, but your suggestions may be better than mine.)
Introducing Hatch’s Hit List
When the Inducing Infringment of Copyrights Act (IICA, née INDUCE Act) first became news it was disparagingly (and rightfully so) compared to an infamous bill from 2002, the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Protection Act aka CBDTPA aka Hollin…
Fritz’s Hit List
Edward Felten has established a site called Fritz’s Hit List in which he will document all the devices that will…