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CBDTPA == TCPA Enablement Act? 25

Posted by Hemos from the regulate-what-you-know dept.
Ian Hill writes "This e-mail from Lucky Green, courtesy of Cryptome, provides an interesting look into the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance. It suggests that this is the technology pointed to by Sen. Hollings in his CBDTPA. Frightening quote: "'trusted' here means that the members of the TCPA trust that the TPM [Trusted Platform Module] will make it near impossible for the owner of that motherboard to access supervisor mode on the CPU without their knowledge, they trust that the TPM will enable them to determine remotely if the customer has a kernel-level debugger loaded, and they trust that the TPM will prevent a user from bypassing OS protections by installing custom PCI cards to read out memory directly via DMA without going through the CPU.""
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CBDTPA == TCPA Enablement Act? More

CBDTPA == TCPA Enablement Act?

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  • Mail our senator (Score:4, Insightful)

    by isorox ( 205688 ) on Monday June 24, 2002 @08:12AM (#3756378) Homepage Journal
    Thats right, write out a letter, stick a stamp on it and mail to your senator with your worries.

    Then when you've done that mail your local journalist, your radio station, your dog. If it gets desperate say that you worry your inability to control hardware that you have bought in your own home is extremely dangerous and could allow terroists to gain hold of it - that'll work. Failing that say that without control over your own products, your children will be able to access all sorts of illegal information and get into trouble. Dont bother putting in methdos, politicions dont care about them!
    • Let them get their own toilet paper.

    • is it me (Score:1, Offtopic)

      by isorox ( 205688 )
      or is karma whoring getting easier?
    • No, don't write a letter. By the time the charred remains of your "de-anthraxed" letters arrive at your senators' or rep's offices, it will be too late.

      Everything going to their offices is fried with xrays, microwaves, uber-secret virus killing death rays, and so on. That takes time and actually chars some of the material that finally gets through.

      Check for your senators' electronic contact info here [senate.gov].
      Get a fax number if there is no email or web form to use.

      Write to your House represenatative here [house.gov].

      There are no sites more deserving of a slashdot effect than those two, especially at a time like this.

      P.S. While you're at it, write intelligently against things like CBDTPA, outrageous "copyright protection" schemes, etc. Learn more about the issues at EFF [eff.org].
      • I wrote to my senators in AZ, Sen. McCain and Sen. Kyl, regarding the first version of the CBDTPA. I sent the letters certified mail, but never got any receipts. *Many* weeks later I got a reply for Sen. Kyl, though I never heard from McCain.

        Yes, your letters will take time. They do get through, and sometimes they get read and answered. Are they better than faxes or e-mail? I don't know. I suspect e-mail is easy to ignore, and I don't have a fax machine.

  • Isn't this news flash insanely important enough for everyone to see?
    • No, it's purely rumor. Some guy wrote an email to some other guy saying that a dead bill might do something which we all knew it was designed to do anyway (take away our computing freedom, not necessarily enable the TCPA).
      • Thats not quite accurate. Admittedly the idea that the Act is aimed at the TCPA is Lucky's own idea, and this has been discussed on the mailing list in detail.

        The bit that made me submit this was the quote. Perhaps I should have added that the quote about kernel level debuggers etc didnt come from lucky, but from the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance. This is a powerful group of people. Companies like MS, Intel, Compaq etc. Even if this bill comes to nothing (as we all hope it will) this is still a prophecy which could well come true.

        I don't think the /. readership is as worried about TCPA as it should be, as I dont think they are as AWARE of it as they should be.

        --
        Ian Hill

        • Companies like MS, Intel, Compaq etc.

          At least one of which (Intel) has directly critisized the SSSCA.

          Even if this bill comes to nothing (as we all hope it will) this is still a prophecy which could well come true.

          I guess I'm just an all-or-nothing kind of guy. If I'm not given permission to copy and distribute content, I don't really care if there are technical measures to stop me. In fact, I'd actually prefer it, because then at least I don't have to worry about others who do circumvent the technology driving up the prices for me.

          Which is not to say that I like the CBDTPA. I want the choice to use non-DRM protected content, and the ability to buy a system which isn't filled with expensive DRM technologies which I don't plan to use. If the TCPA drives the proprietary content (like slashdot) away from Windows products, so much the better.

          • I guess I'm just an all-or-nothing kind of guy. If I'm not given permission to copy and distribute content, I don't really care if there are technical measures to stop me. In fact, I'd actually prefer it, because then at least I don't have to worry about others who do circumvent the technology driving up the prices for me.
            A fair point of view. But these measures go much further than merely stopping you from copying an OGG or something. Physically preventing kernel level debuggers? Surely thats fair use of your hardware. VCRs were never banned because, although they can be put to misuse their main purpose is fair.

            It just seems wrong to me!

            -- Ian Hill

            • Physically preventing kernel level debuggers? Surely thats fair use of your hardware.

              I don't have any intention of running a kernel level debugger, and certainly not on Windows. As long as this isn't legislated Linux will continue to thrive in the server and hobby markets.

              VCRs were never banned because, although they can be put to misuse their main purpose is fair.

              Legislation is a completely different thing. The CBDTPA is a horrible law. You don't have any argument with me there.

          • At least one of which (Intel) has directly critisized the SSSCA.
            ...Intel is opposed to the government getting involved in DRM. If it will make them more money, why wouldn't they support it?! Moreover, once they have made it, why wouldn't they require it?!

            Everyone is out to protect their own interests; Intel doesn't want the government telling them how to do their job.

  • Looks like it's going to be time for another tea party.
  • wonder if this will create a whole new kind of black market one for servers ,proccessers and generel hardware. think about ti. would you realy want your server to report back what you do, costing you bandwidth and problably slowing you down. another thought if your con cable how much bandwidth will the monitoring system use?
    hmmmmm hopefully an asain chipmaker besides cyrix stands to the occasion.
    of this could be a problem too
    http://www.msnbc.com/news/770511.asp?cp1=1
  • ...the scary thing is though, it was just fiction at the time.

    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

    Wait and see eh =\
  • They can also trust that there will be (East-Asian?) manufacturers who will not comply with their oppressive laws, and that people in the so-called Free countries will be buying this hardware, at least for a while. I wonder where this is leading, though, and to be honest, I've lost track of what it's all about. People have been able to make illegal copies ever since the invention of copyright (before that they could copy, but it wasn't illegal), and there will be ways to make copies as long as there will be ways to use. It is a battle the draconians cannot win. Is it so hard for governments to realize that all that happens is criminalization of fair use, while pirates go mostly unharmed? The manufacturers of the pirating hardware to be are laughing in their beards now, soon this hardware will be illegal, making them immune to market forces so that they can charge basically any sum they like! Where do terrorists get their money? If you enact these laws, some of it may be coming from you!

    ---
    Some Windows were made to be broken.

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