Texas Senate Bill 1116 (SB1116) and companion Texas House Bill 2121 (HB2121) This bill creates new criminal penalties for obtaining a communication service (such as internet service or cable/satellite/phone/multichannel services) with "intent to defraud" the provider of the service. The penalties extend to connecting, modifying, possessing, or sharing instructions for the use of any "access device" in a manner unauthorized by the provider. The Bill has passed out of the Senate Criminal Justice committee. The bill is BAD because: * The bill's broad language makes it a crime to modify your internet-connected computer in any way that your service provider does not approve of. It is so broad that it could apply to many electronic communications practices, software, and devices commonly used in homes and for sale at stores. * In particular, this bill could expose you to criminal and civil penalties if you connect LINUX (or any particular OS) to your cable internet connection without permission from your cable provider. * Likewise, this bill could expose you to criminal and civil penalties if you connect any device (such as a router or firewall) to your cable internet connection without permission from your cable provider. * The bill would promote anti-competitive practices by large communication services, such as tying proprietary products to communications services. It would, in effect, return us to the day when everyone had to rent telephones from the telephone company. * The bill would interfere with legitimate academic and commercial research and innovation, by prohibiting the development and distribution of plans for "unauthorized access devices." * The bill has excessive civil and criminal penalties that take the law into private hands and that are far out of proportion to the offenses. The bill would open the door for a barrage of litigation by industry against individuals and between competitors. This litigation would be complicated by areas of overlap and contradiction with federal laws. * Similar broad laws are already interfering with legitimate business and research activities in this country. The wording of this legislation appears to be custom-drafted by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and is similar to the already-problematic Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Even with amendments in the committee substitute, it is still unacceptable. Similar bills have been introduced in other states (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Tennessee) or have already passed (Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming). Because the bills are more extreme versions of the DMCA, pundits refer to them as "super-DMCA" legislation. Texas Senate Bill 1116 (SB1116) Sponsored by: Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands/Beaumont) Committee: Criminal Justice Committee Hearing: Scheduled for May 6. Substitute passed out of committee. Texas House Bill 2121 (HB2121) Companion (identical) bill Submitted by: Ron Wilson (D-Houston, not on Committee below) Committee: Regulated Industries Hearing: 4/23/2003; EFF-Austin testified. still pending. For more information, contact: sb1116-info@effaustin.org or visit: http://wiki.effaustin.org/index.php/SB1116 politics conference Main Menu