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Nader's odd silence on digital rights
On the upd-discuss list, lifelong liberal Dem David H. Rothman of Teleread wonders why presidential candidate Ralph Nader hasn't opposed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, the DMCA, and other elements of the multi-billion-dollar copyright giveaway to corporate interests. Writes David:
I've been in touch with one of Nader's key aides in the campaign and am hoping that RN will ultimately stand up for consumers and even business people. Radical Hollywood-bought copyright laws hurt almost our entire society except for the MPAA and RIAA elites and the other members of what Michael Hart has accurately described as the copyright gentry.None other than Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes Magazine, the "capitalist tool," has warned of the need to mitigate Bono. Why can't Nader catch up?
Shouldn't Ralph speak out for balance? Bono and the rest are a special disaster for schools and libraries, not to mention the consequences for free and creative expression and America's high-tech industries; doesn't Ralph care?
Isn't this one of the purposes of independent candidacies of any ideology--to educate the populace when the media won't?
For more on Nader and copyright, see this.
August 15, 2004 at 04:20 PM in Digital rights & copyright | Permalink
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Thanks to JD for spreading the word about Ralph Nader's refusal to speak out on copyright. May JD and his many friends in the media follow up! I've criticized Democratic and Republican presidential candidates for ducking copyright issues, and if need be I am prepared to do the same with Nader. Just what's the point of Nader's campaign if he wimps out on Net-related matters as important as copyright? What would this mean in terms of his integrity even on non-Net issues? I'd hope that Nader's authorship of a recent HarperCollins book--his own dealings with the copyright interests--would have nothing to do with his out-of-character silence and that he'll soon be denouncing Bono and similar joys. Title of the HarperCollins book? The Good Fight. A little irony? Meanwhile click here to immediately reach the TeleRead item associated with "See this" at the end of JD's post. The lack of an exact pointer was my fault, not his.
Posted by: David H. Rothman | Aug 16, 2004 4:26:57 AM
