I got this today from ipacaction.org:
Dear IPac Supporter,
Tomorrow the Senate Judiciary committee continues its markup of Senator
Ted Stevens’ omnibus communications bill. It’s a lengthy and complicated
piece of legislation, but hidden deep within are the broadcast and audio
flags. Both represent the latest and perhaps most desperate attempts by
the Hollywood cartels to control innovation, roll back fair use, and
disrupt the free market.
The bill mandates a government technology committee that would approve
or reject devices based on their functionality, just like Hollywood
wants. For example, new personal video recorders could be blocked from
the market for having too much functionality, allowing users to tweak
their settings, or interfacing with non-approved devices in your
entertainment system. This kind of silly bottleneck would be laughable
if it wasn’t so close to becoming law.
Now is the time to let our representatives know how the flags would
decimate the consumer electronics industry while erasing our fair use
rights.
Please call the Senators on the Judiciary committee and let your voice
be heard.
http://ipaction.org/blog/2006/06/help-lower-broadcast-flag.html