Via jwz: * * * The new Congress has barely begun, but the major record labels are already up to their old tricks. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has re-introduced the PERFORM Act, a backdoor assault on your right to record off the radio. Satellite and digital radio stations as well as Internet webcasters would have to adopt digital rights management (DRM) restrictions or lose the statutory license for broadcasting music.
Well, Congress is off to quite a start this year. In addition to killing off small webcasters they're talking writing a blank check for the DOJ to create ISP Data Retention requirements and they're back in to fining sites like MemeStreams hundreds of thousands of dollars if we fail to comply with an arcane reporting rule for child porn incidents. They are also seeking to criminalize Internet use: Another section of the draft bill says that anyone convicted of certain child exploitation-related offenses who also used the "Internet to commit the violation" will get an extra 10 years in prison. Marv Johnson, a legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the extra 10 years in prison was an odd requirement because the Internet is not inherently dangerous like a firearm. Rather, he said, the bill proposes to punish someone for using a perfectly legal item or service in an illegal way. "It would be like punishing someone additionally for driving a car in the commission of an offense," Johnson said.
Moral panic is so awesome! Don't Let Congress Shackle Digital Music | 
