The Walt Disney Company and other media giants are busy lobbying legislators 
to push the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act through Congress.

This act will make it illegal to make a computer system that doesn't include 
the software required to implement some kind of Federally mandated security 
standard.

In other words, Squeak as it stands now would be illegal. As would be most of 
the operating systems out there.

The view of the backers of this bill is that of the Internet as a global 
TV/entertainment distribution channel, and computers as appliances that can 
play that entertainment. Forget about the grass-roots uses of the Internet 
outside of the media giants' world. And forget about people designing and 
building their own digital systems.

This bill will spend $450 million of taxpayer money on R&D, $142 million on 
training. So you will also see computer security software companies pushing 
for it (follow the money...).

>From the bill's header (see http://cryptome.org/sssca.htm for the text of the 
bill):

It is unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or 
otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include and 
utilize certified security technologies that adhere to the security systems 
standards adopted under section 104. 

The bill defines "interactive digital device" as:

The term "interactive digital device" means 
any machine, device, product, software, or technology, whether or not 
included with or as part of some other machine, device, product, software, or 
technology, that is designed, marketed or used for the primary purpose of, 
and that is capable of, storing, retrieving, processing, performing, 
transmitting, receiving, or copying information in digital form. 

In other words, all computers (in fact, this appears to include all 
microprocessor-based systems).

There is an open letter to Michael Eisner at 
http://www2.linuxjournal.com/articles/conversations/0034.html that is worth 
reading.

This bill deserves to be defeated. I don't want the government telling me 
what kind of computer or software system I can build, and I hope you don't.

Please contact your legislators. Our freedom to create is more important 
than maximizing the entertainment conglomerates' profits.

-- 
Ned Konz
currently: Stanwood, WA
email:     ned at bike-nomad.com
homepage:  http://bike-nomad.com