GRUPP@MIT-MC.ARPA (Paul R. Grupp) (08/28/85)
I thought this would be of interest to all... -----forwarded message starts here----- Date: Thu, 22 Aug 85 20:52:54 EDT From: Keith F. Lynch <KFL at MIT-MC.ARPA> To: Security at RUTGERS.ARPA Re: Watching TV I don't know if anyone noticed, but a few weeks ago the Supreme Court threw away a right that Americans have had since day one. It has always been the case that everyone had the right to receive any signal being transmitted on any frequency using any kind of receiver. You didn't always have the right to do whatever you wanted with these signals, such as tell anyone about them, but you could always listen to them (or watch them) alone in the privacy of your home. But now the court has ruled that people are breaking the law if they watch sattelite TV that is intended to be charged for, even if it not scrambled. Comments? ...Keith -----end of forwarded message----- I was struck with horror and disbelief after reading this message. The implications of this ruling set the way for making it a crime to monitor radio signals unless the sender gives express permission to do so. I suppose this could lead to making it a crime to even own certain receiving equipment! I've seen this in other countries but NEVER thought it would happin here in FREE AMERICA! -Paul
wmartin@Almsa-2 (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI) (08/28/85)
As a sidenote to this discussion, I recall running across a copy of a House bill in the government-documents-repository section of my university library (this was back in the early 60s) which was a resolution or proposed legislation that explicitly stated that "No regulation or law shall be interpreted to in any way restrict the right of any individual to receive any or all signals transmitted via the electromagnetic spectrum" (or words to that effect). However, sadly, I believe that this, one of the few worthwhile pieces of legislation I have ever read, was never passed. Too bad. If it had been, this nonsense would have never arisen. Will
jhs@mitre-bedford.ARPA (08/29/85)
Maybe it's time to start pressing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on this point. "No law, ordinance, regulation, or executive order shall be valid or binding if it abridges the right of a citizen to receive and gain information from radio signals from any source whatever." The manufacturers of scrambling and encryption equipment should be more than glad to put their attorneys to work polishing up the amendment into a suitable form of legalese. Likewise the manufacturers of consumer satellite dish antennas and VCRs. There are a lot of tricky issues within Government on this subject, but right now the mood is to get everybody to "button up" their communications. Therefore, stating this principle right in the Constitution would be a good way to relieve everybody of any other protection and force them to focus on encryption. The key question is whether or not the public would care enough to vote for it in a referendum. -John Sangster jhs at MITRE-Bedford
john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) (08/30/85)
> It has always been the case that everyone had the right to receive any >signal being transmitted on any frequency using any kind of receiver. Not true! It is my understanding that it has always been illegal to intercept common carrier signals, even over the radio. This has been used for years by Microwave Distribution System operators to prosecute unauthorized reception of their TV signals (here in Phoenix, HBO). It is certainly in the American tradition to allow anyone to listen to anything, but it has not been so in the law for many decades. >I was struck with horror and disbelief after reading this message. The >implications of this ruling set the way for making it a crime to monitor >radio signals unless the sender gives express permission to do so. I >suppose this could lead to making it a crime to even own certain receiving >equipment! I've seen this in other countries but NEVER thought it would >happin here in FREE AMERICA! > >-Paul -- John Moore (NJ7E) {decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!john (602) 952-8205 (day or evening)
jhs@mitre-bedford.ARPA (08/30/85)
No they can't! The proposed amendment said nothing about allowing them to USE the information. They can just receive it. You can encode it if you care. -John S., W3IKG