[kwlug-disc] Your country needs you (or "Our MP is on the C-32 committee") and the Long Census

[Russell McOrmond]

On 10-11-20 11:22 PM, Darryl O'Neill wrote:
> The Tories killed the Long Census since they don't want to turn ordinary
> citizens into criminals for not filling in a form.
> But it would appear that they want to make it illegal to copy your own
> DVD's onto your own iPod or Blackberry or to watch your own purchased
> movie on your own PC.

   Here is the difference:

   With the Census they were well aware of what they were doing, but 
some of us disagree on the effect.  In my mind the ultimate effect of 
getting rid of the long-form census will be to create an incentive to 
merge databases kept by different departments as well as data collected 
by the private sector.  Short-form: the effect will be a far greater 
invasion of our privacy than the long form could ever be.


   With TPMs, they aren't aware of what TPMs are or the effect.  They 
believe that TPMs added to content alone can "make decisions" (IE: just 
like believing a paperback book can read itself out loud), and are 
unaware of the impact of TPMs on our devices.   They have never read 
section 3, 15 or 18 of the current copyright act or any WIPO treaties to 
notice that "access" was never before contemplated in copyright (for 
good reason), and thus "access controls" should never be contemplated in 
copyright.   Like the special interest lawyers that are advising them, 
they don't eve know the difference between an access control and a use 
control.


   Please do not assume that any parliamentarians from any party are in 
favour of TPMs in Copyright because they actually understand what they 
are, or know what the consequences will be.   Nearly all real-world 
impacts of TPMs will be unintended consequences.

> I think that we should engage the Liberal/NDP's on this side of the
> issue. I am sure that they would love to bring both of these issues up
> again during questioning period.

   Please take a glance at the transcripts from the debate that has 
happened in the house so far of C-32.  This is the starting position of 
the parties.

   The most important questions are those that happen in the committee. 
   As they talk to witnesses, they need to be asking smart questions of 
them to try to get useful answers.  Having them ask proponents of TPM 
legislation skill testing questions about real-world technology 
(cryptography, etc) would make for some pretty interesting committee 
hearings given it would be more obvious that the beneficiaries of TPMs 
are monopolist technology manufacturers and not copyright holders (IE: 
This is about BSA, not RIAA).

-- 
  Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
  Please help us tell the Canadian Parliament to protect our property
  rights as owners of Information Technology. Sign the petition!
  http://fix.billc32.ca/petition/ict/

  "The government, lobbied by legacy copyright holders and hardware
   manufacturers, can pry my camcorder, computer, home theatre, or
   portable media player from my cold dead hands!"