Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Advisory

Senate Hearings This Week on Dramatic New Digital Controls

SSSCA Hearing, Thu. Feb. 28

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Washington, DC - This Thursday, February 28th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold hearings on draft legislation, the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA). Sponsored by U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) and Ted Stevens (R-AK), SSSCA would require government mandated copy prevention technology in future digital devices that would give Hollywood control over how consumers can use digital content. Senate hearings had originally been scheduled for October 25, 2001, but were indefinitely postponed after much public opposition to the proposed legislation. Thursday's re-scheduled hearing will allow testimony only from major copyright holders and electronics companies; no public interest or consumer rights groups have been invited to provide input on the draft legislation on how information may be used in a digital environment.

Witness List:

Panel I:

Mr. Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

Mr. Peter Chernin, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation

Mr. Leslie L. Vadasz, Executive Vice President, Intel Corporation

Panel II:

Mr. Andreas Bechtolsheim, General Manager/Vice President of the Gigabit Systems Business Unit, Cisco Systems Inc.

Mr. James E. Meyer, Special Advisor to the Chairman and formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Thomson Multimedia

Mr. Robert Perry, Vice President, Marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.

Info on hearings:

Chair: Sen. Hollings to preside Feb. 28, 2002, 9:30 a.m. ET.
Title: "Protecting Content in the Digital Age"
Location: Hearings will be held in Room 253, Russell Senate Office Building (unless otherwise noted), Delaware and Constitution Avenues, North East District, Washington, DC 20510

Links

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation announcement of hearings:
  http://commerce.senate.gov/press/107-159.html

About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
  http://www.eff.org/

Contacts:

Robin Gross, EFF Intellectual Property Attorney
  robin@eff.org
  +1 415-436-9333 x112

Fred von Lohmann, EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
  fred@eff.org
  +1 415-436-9333 x123

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