Call Your Senator NOW to Throw the Broadcast and Audio Flags Out
Posted by Danny O'BrienThe RIAA and MPAA have been jostling to get the
broadcast flag and audio flag into the monster telecom reform bill. These are two of the bills that our recent Corruptibles animation describes -- not futuristic theories about what Hollywood could do, but actual laws being considered right now.
The flags got into Senator Ted Stevens' (R-AK) bill, which is being considered in committee tomorrow (Thursday). But Senator John Sununu (R-NH), who peppered the MPAA and RIAA with tough questions when they spoke to the committee, has filed an amendment to get the flags thrown out. This amendment has a legitimate chance -- Democrats are angry at the anti-consumer tone of the final bill, and Republicans are chafing at the entertainment industry's yearning to over-regulate another market.
If you're in the states listed below, call your Senator NOW, and ask him or her to support the Sununu amendment to remove both TV and audio flags (he also has an amendment to modify the audio flag, so be clear you want to kick out both flags). If your Senator is a Republican, emphasize the danger of giving the FCC extra regulatory powers. If your Senator is a Democrat, emphasize how bad this is for consumer rights. Either way, tell them that entertainment industry powergrabs have no place in a telecom reform bill, and they need to be kept out.
Chairman Ted Stevens (AK), (202) 224-3004
John McCain (AZ), (202) 224-2235
Conrad Burns (MT), Main: 202-224-2644
Trent Lott (MS), (202) 224-6253
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), (202) 224-5922
Gordon H. Smith (OR), (202) 224 3753
John Ensign (NV), (202) 224-6244
George Allen (VA), (202) 224-4024
John E. Sununu (NH), (202) 224-2841
Jim DeMint (SC), (202) 224-6121
David Vitter (LA),(202) 224-4623
Co-Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI), (202) 224-3934
John D. Rockefeller (WV), (202) 224-6472
John F. Kerry (MA), (202) 224-2742
Barbara Boxer (CA), (202) 224-3553
Bill Nelson (FL), (202) 224-5274
Maria Cantwell (WA), (202) 224-3441
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ), (202) 224-3224
E. Benjamin Nelson (NE), (202) 224-6551
Mark Pryor (AR), (202) 224-2353
Related Issues: Digital Video
