[lug] SSSCA to make all open source software illegal

[D. Stimits]

"Dhruva B. Reddy" wrote:
> 
> Just had a look at the second link.  It says that you can only be convicted if
> you broke this law for financial gain.  Apparently, this doesn't apply to say,
> using Linux to get around fair-use protection mechanisms in order to get to the
> material.

I'm sure we'll feel warm and fuzzy about that when this is hardware
enforced on the hard drives themselves, and nobody sells anything else
(all the manufacturers would be convicted for doing otherwise...and even
if unencumbered hardware is available, who will sell it
not-for-profit?). Somehow I see this as a detail that, once the law is
in, would be mutated and eventually not help us. Once the law is in,
slowly nailing the coffin lid on is much easier. And items like hard
drives will not be in any way modifiable...you can't open up hard drives
and modify them anywhere nearly as easily as a piece of software.

Now also imagine that the security features are patented, and purchasing
the product requires a license that says you can't reverse engineer it.
Or imagine it is a MS .net product, and it also says you can't use GPL's
software with it.

D. Stimits, stimits at idcomm.com

> 
> On Sun, Oct 21, 2001 at 10:36:42AM -0500, quoth John Karns:
> > On Sat, 20 Oct 2001, Alan Robertson said:
> > > [snip]
> >
> > There's also quite a bit on google searching "hollings linux";
> > specifically see:
> >
> > http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46655,00.html
> >
> > Security Systems Standards and Certification Act at
> > http://216.110.42.179/docs/hollings.090701.html
> 
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