Private citizens voice opposition to copyright reform’s anti-hacking provisions

Hundreds of individual Canadians have added their voices to those opposing any attempt to introduce U.S.-style copyright legislation in this country. On a web site listing comments in response to a government white paper on Internet copyright issues, a random sampling indicates many Canadians are worried about losing their freedom online. Almost unanimously, the comments attack anti-circumvention rules that would restrict legitimate uses of electronic documents protected by encryption and other methods. The comments, by an almost-exclusively male group, will likely stand in stark contrast to those by Canada’s largest media and new media stakeholders. Those submissions, only now being obtained by Canadian NEW MEDIA in advance of being made public by Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage, will take a much different tack, supporting government legislation to protect content in the strongest terms. Media companies such as broadcasters, record labels and film studios are anxious to use the Internet as a new distribution mechanism, but encryption technologies must be relatively fail-safe before they can implement new subscription models. New legislation outlawing the circumvention of digital rights management technology on multimedia and software could be the guarantee those bodies are seeking. If the government here introduces laws modeled on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), however, it could be viewed by average Canadians as an attempt to put the interests of large media companies ahead of personal freedoms. Over the summer, hundreds of their comments have been posted to the government’s consultation site. Here’s what they’re saying: Andrew Ford: "The point of consulting with ‘stakeholders’ seems somewhat moot to me. To be generous, it is not unknown for business and industry to overstate the dangers to them in matters such as copyright. It seems to me, however, that such companies can continue to conduct business without being granted exclusive new rights at the expense of the populace. Let us not be duplicitous here, these initiatives do not favour the performer in any meaningful manner. The primary beneficiaries are large media companies, and the larger they are, the more they benefit." Mark Robinson: "The proposed amendments to the Copyright Act are a shame and direct play to hand (sic) of large media corporations. They remove rights for individuals while allowing corporations to trode (sic) over any person who disparages them. A similar act has already passed in the USA, the Digital Millenium (sic) Copyright Act, and it has proved to be a resounding blow for civil rights." Stephen Salomons: "I am concerned about the long-term preservation of Canadian culture. Current restrictions in the American DMCA on circumvention and distribution will only serve short-term interests. In 100 years from now, where will Canadian culture be? If material is not available in an unprotected and freely distributed format, then Canada will lose its history. Without making material available to citizens, history will not be properly recorded. We will have locked up our history, and thrown away the key. All in the short-term interests of corporate profits, and the long-term loss of Canadian culture and a Canadian identity." Alan Truesdale: "The legislation you are proposing is significant and setting up a web site and hoping no one will notice is not acceptable. It is your responsibility as our government to both inform the public of the repercussions of this type of legislation and to build a consensus. By submitting your proposed legislation you can not claim to occupy a middle position. What is so worry some (sic) is that the text and nature of the proposed legislation is so obviously written south of our boarders (sic)." Brian M. Hunt: "I would contest the value provided to the people of Canada by an act similar to the heavily debated American Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Not only is the American act riddled in controversy, conflicting with fair use acts, their prided first amendment, and even itself, the DMCA is tainted by the will of megalomaniac corporations who influence the law to guarantee them money in the new economy, the digital information economy where there is insubstantial cost to information exchange, simply on the grounds that they have been guaranteed money in the pre-digital economy." Several submissions also attack anti-circumvention provisions in the proposed legislation as the enemy of research into cryptography. Several intervenors note the importance of being allowed to crack software and files for use when current technologies and platforms become obsolete.

Private citizens voice opposition to copyright reform’s anti-hacking provisions

Broadcast | September 20, 2001

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