Wyden Introduces Bill to Circumvent Some Anti-Circumvention

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) have introduced a bill that would expand the exemptions for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibitions on technological protection measures (TCMs).

DMCA bars circumvention of protection for digital content to prevent it from being stolen and copied, but the legislators, backed by fair use fans, argue the law is outdated and the prohibitions impede research, journalism, the repair and maintenance of personal devices, and freedom of expression.

They also argue the "protections" can impede the creation of accessible versions of e-books for the blind.

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Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.