The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA), known in early drafts as the Security Systems and Standards Certification Act (SSSCA) is a proposed US law which would prohibit any kind of technology which can be used to read digital content without Digital Rights Management DRM which prohibits copying any content under copyright from being copied without permission of the copyright owner.
The CBDTPA is proposed by South Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings, who is noted for his support for legislation that is in the interests of the established media distribution industry. He has been described by opponents as the 'Senator from Disney'.
The penalties proposed for breaking this law range from 5 to 20 years in prison and fines between $50,000 to $1 million.
Further Details see:
- The SSSCA Text: http://cryptome.org/sssca.htm
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org/IP/SSSCA_CBDTPA/
- http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/03/27/196246.shtml?tid=4
- LibertyThink: http://www.libertythink.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=68&mode=thread&order=0