RIAA, Business Software Alliance and Computer Systems Policy Project Back Off on Government Intervention

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Business Software Alliance and Computer Systems Policy Project technology groups have announced that they have reached a compromise accord as to intervention by the federal government to prevent digital technology piracy. The RIAA is expected to argue against government mandates requiring technology locking controls in future generations of entertainment devices to thwart consumers' sharing of music and digital media, emphasizing that they support voluntary consumer cooperation instead as the primary means to stop piracy. While this may sound as if the RIAA and technology groups have donned their 'pro consumer technology rights' white hats, their decision against governmental mandates is more likely motivated by the fact that mandated controls would be expensive and technology intensive to put into place, and the fact that these controls are often defeated by hackers as soon as they are released. The members of RIAA and the participating technology groups include Adobe Systems, Apple Computer and Microsoft, as well as executives of Intel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Officials with those organizations declined to discuss the agreement that had been reached in any detail, but simply stated that they had reached a 'landmark consensus.' According to parts of a statement read to the Associated Press on Monday by an anonymous representative of the technology consortium, "How companies satisfy consumer expectations is a business decision that should be driven by the dynamics of the marketplace and should not be legislated and regulated."

The Motion Picture Association of America did not participate in this compromise accord and apparently has not changed its position of advocating full federal government regulations to halt piracy. This conscious election not to participate with the RIAA and other technology groups 'politically' isolates the Motion Picture Association of America from its former allies. A spokesman for the MPAA declined to comment.