Squeak will become illegal in the US under the CBDTPA?

Jeff Bowman jeff at dvns.com
Tue Mar 26 17:30:51 UTC 2002


I hope you are wrong.  I'm afraid I need (or anticipate needing)
specifically those things. I'd have to stop using Squeak if those
suddenly disappeared. :(

Without reading the bill, though, it would seem like a bunch of
software would become illegal (assumption based wholly on your post),
like Netscape, Mozilla, InternetExplorer, etc.  Is there maybe a
loophole to cover this? 

Have I misunderstood?

Regards,
Jeff

Ned Konz <ned at bike-nomad.com> writes:

> The Hollings-Feinstein CBDTPA bill pending in the US will, AFAICT, make 
> Squeak illegal unless we add approved "digital rights management" code to it.
> 
> This is probably not what was intended, but appears to be the case given the 
> wording of the bill.
> 
> CBDTPA applies to "any hardware or software that reproduces
> copyrighted works in digital form."  Which Squeak can do.
> 
> However, I think Squeak can be made legal if the new bill passes by:
> * removing the ability to write files
> * removing the network connectivity classes
> 
> Have I missed anything?
> 
> Those of you outside the US may think you're free of this interference, but 
> the global entertainment industry is not likely to stop at the US.
> 
> Text of CBDTPA:
> http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cbdtpa/
> 
> Politech archive on the CBDTPA:
> http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=cbdtpa
> 
> -- 
> Ned Konz
> currently: Stanwood, WA
> email:     ned at bike-nomad.com
> homepage:  http://bike-nomad.com
> 

-- 
   __
  / /  (_)__  __ ____  __
 / /__/ / _ \/ // /\ \/ /  . . .  t h e   c h o i c e  o f   a
/____/_/_//_/\_,_/ /_/\_\              G N U   g e n e r a t i o n . . .



More information about the Squeak-dev mailing list