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Earlier this week, U.S. Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle introduced the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007 (FAIR USE Act) for consideration in Congress. Mere days after its initial announcement, the bill is already being targeted for suppression by control-hungry content organizations.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is just such an entity that is taking a clear posture of opposition to the FAIR USE Act. Uneager to relinquish any of the control that it currently exerts over music content, the RIAA is claiming that the FAIR USE Act would “legalize hacking” and completely undermine the spirit of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"The DMCA has enabled consumers to enjoy creative works through popular new technologies," the RIAA said in a statement. "The DVD, iPod and the iTunes Music Store can all be traced to the DMCA. Online games, on-demand movies, e-books, online libraries, and many other services are coming to market because of a secure environment rooted in the DMCA's protections."

Pardon my editorializing, but my brain is entirely incapable of fathoming the depth of ridiculousness in this statement. From these remarks, I can only come to two plausible conclusions concerning the RIAA:

1) The organization is committed to being blatantly deceitful in its efforts to frighten people into embracing their DRM chains, or;

2) It is hopelessly ignorant of any understanding regarding the grossly restrictive nature of Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the DMCA in general.

I have real trouble believing that the RIAA could be so inept that it actually believes that restricting the way in which consumers can use the content that they have legally purchased. Is the organization truly that dense, or is it just a matter of control vs. common sense?

Either way, you can bet your bottom dollar that I, along with many other interested parties, will be following the fate of the FAIR USE Act very closely in the coming weeks.

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