Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (thing)

The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act, or CBDTPA, was introduced to the United States Senate on March 21, 2002 by Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC). The bill is a slightly less broad revision of the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act; if passed, it would require most, if not all, new hardware and software to implement a government-approved digital rights management scheme.

The bill has recieved strong backing from Disney, along with the motion picture and record industries, but faces strong opposition from the technology sector, and even some Senators; Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VE), chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has gone so far as to say that he intends to prevent the bill from becoming law this year; however, even if the bill fails in the Senate, similar legislation is being drafted by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), and will likely be introduced to the House of Representatives in the next few months. One way or another, this is going to be a very interesting political battle.

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