STOP THE MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America, the organization that plays a major part in nearly every movie made, is shutting down thousands of websites worldwide and suing countless individuals simply because they offer information on DVD technology that the MPAA wants to keep out of your hands.

The MPAA doesn't want you to have the ability to play the DVD's YOU BUY on any DVD player or computer that they don't control.

Imagine if you no longer had the right to buy imported CD's. With DVD's you can be prevented from playing any disc that is bought in another country. You could easily find yourself not able to watch a movie at a friend's house, because his video player isn't blessed by the MPAA.

The MPAA wants to be able to control not only the content, but the hardware as well.

A recently written computer program allows consumers to do something the MPAA doesn't want them to do - use DVD technology in a competitive and individually tailored environment. People who do this are NOT DVD pirates! Recent MPAA statements have repeatedly claimed that piracy is the only issue here. It has ALWAYS been possible to copy DVD's -- that is not what the people being sued, threatened, and intimidated are doing.

What the MPAA doesn't want you to know is that they want TOTAL CONTROL over every aspect of consumer DVD use. Some technologically adept people have figured out ways of using this technology and that has been deemed a crime by the MPAA. By threatening publishers and free speech advocates with fines and imprisonment if they continue to explore this technology, the MPAA has stifled free speech in a way that's never been done before in this country. If they are allowed to continue, this repressive atmosphere could spread to all aspects of our lives. You could one day find yourself being prosecuted for something as simple as opening the hood of your own car to find out what's making that funny noise.

Help us spread the word and stop the MPAA from dealing a crippling blow to the First Amendment in the name of profits.

US: www.opendvd.org

THEM: