Go Rick Boucher! US Representative
Go Rick Boucher! US Representative Rick Boucher (D-Va, 9th District) is posing the idea that the Recording Industry Association of America (the evil corporate shills who’ve hijacked our copyright laws) is in violation of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. [via Slashdot] The AHRA gave consumers the right to make copies of audio recordings for their own personal use. In return, recording companies collect royalties on blank tapes, CDs, and DATs. Now, the recording companies are launching technology that prevents making copies, even for personal use . . . but they’re still collecting royalties on the blank media! They’re gouging us twice. (Actually, the consumers are gouged about forty-eight separate ways by the recording industry.)
Rick Boucher represents southwest Virginia and his district includes Virginia Tech, which I think is part of the reason why he is consistently out in front (and on the consumer’s side) of technology issues. When I attended Tech, he was my Congressman. Plus, Boucher actually used to write a column for me when I was Editorials Editor of Tech’s student newspaper. One of my favorite legislators, all-time.