Tech CEOs Say Artificial Barrier Are Bad (Unless They're Protecting Us)

from the self-serving dept

This won't come as much of a surprise of course, but it's a bit amusing to notice the internal inconsistencies in the BSA's tech policy forum in Congress this week. The BSA, which like the RIAA and MPAA, has no problem ignoring more nuanced discussions on important topics if it thinks they will cloud the point they're making -- even if that point is questionable. The latest is that they sent a bunch of big name tech CEOs to go talk to some senators about artificial barriers are bad (unless they're talking about artificial barriers that protect BSA companies). While the CEOs and the BSA will likely insist that's not the case at all, a quick look at their two main issues proves it's true. First, the group pointed out why protectionist trade policies are bad, and talked about how offshoring was helping to boost the US economy. In other words: "artificial barriers are bad" because they don't let the market do what it needs to do. They then immediately switched course to talk about how the government needs to step up their efforts to stop intellectual property violations. Intellectual property laws, of course, are "artificial barriers" as well. They're just government created barriers on the use of information. However, for BSA members, these artificial barriers will never be strong enough, as they went on and on about how they need the government to be stronger about enforcing these barriers. In fact, they specifically warn that no changes are needed in the dreadful DMCA law. That statement actually came from Adobe's CEO who once used the DMCA to keep a man in jail for months for writing software that was perfectly legal.