U.S. Bill to ban open digital radio

Filed in archive Government on May 1, 2006

Hollywood is at it again, controlling how consumers can enjoy and use entertainment. In The Season of Bad Laws, Part 3: Banning MP3 Streaming, the EFF describes a US bill that not only prevents satellite radio providers from offering devices that can record, but also forces Internet broadcasters to use restrictive a DRM (Digital rights management) file format and not the open MP3 format.

According to the article:

Under the current law, webcasters are forbidden from helping their listeners record the webcasts, and are required to use DRM only if the format includes DRM.

The PERFORM Act would change that, requiring webcasters to use DRM that restricts the recording of webcasts. That means no more MP3 streams if you rely on the statutory license.

If the PERFORM Act becomes law, webcasters who use the statutory SoundExchange licenses to play music would have to give up MP3 streaming in favor of a DRM-restricted, proprietary formats that impose restrictions on any recordings made. So much for great time-shifting technologies like Streamripper and RadioLover.