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Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal - If Broadcast Flag Passes, You Lose:
"A rule being considered by the Federal Communications Commission is one of a series of proposals pushed by the entertainment industry to help thwart copying and online trading of movies and television shows that increasingly are being broadcast in digital form with high-quality picture and sound.

UPDATED

The purpose, much more than preventing online trading, is to force us all into a pay-per-view world, where the copyright cartel banishes fair use and turns everything digital into something that someone owns outright.

Get ready for the end of time-shifting. Get ready for the era when you are not permitted to fast-forward through commercials, or skip them entirely, without paying extra. Get ready to pay extra if you want to make a personal backup. Get ready to be told specifically what software you can use in the devices you've purchased for multiple purposes, because without (probably Microsoft's programs) you won't be able to watch or listen to or, maybe, even read copyrighted works. And get ready for the time when you have to pay to quote someone's copyrighted work, even a little bit of it."

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