The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), in connection with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and several other groups, today announced the launch of the Digital Freedom Campaign. The stated goal is to kick start a grass roots effort to restore balance to copyright law, which they believe has swung too far in favor of protecting the interests of publishing agencies at the expense of consumers, creators, and manufacturers. The initial funding will come from the CEA, with the hopes of encouraging grass roots support as the advocacy effort gains momentum in its aggressive campaign.
Derek Slater of the EFF stated at the press conference that the entertainment industry has treated its fans like criminals by proposing “draconian restrictions” on their use of media, and that the efforts have done little to curtail piracy but have had the effect of trampling fair use. Slater further advocated that part of this campaign would be to push Congress to restore the traditional values of copyright law.
As an initial effort by the campaign, CEA’s CEO and spokesperson Gary Shapiro announced the launch of a new website, which will serve as an educational tool and critical piece of Digital Freedom’s grass roots efforts. As a matter of introduction, three vignettes, available on the website, were played for the members of the press. It showed an entrepreneur who had been unable to develop his product due to the work of the entertainment industry, a filmmaker who had been sued for including a five-second clip of the nightly news in his film project, and a young woman how had been stifled for being unable to transfer her media between devices in her own home.
The video was a bit on the theatrical side, but it certainly served the admitted purpose of advocacy well.
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