Hollywood vs. Your PC

Congress: Following the Money Trail

The entertainment industry has contributed $25 million to congressional campaigns this year, according to Opensecrets.org, and it shows: Some key players in recent and pending copyright laws have strong ties to entertainment groups; one opponent does not. (The tech industry has only recently become a serious player in Washington, moving from 53rd in contributions in 1990, to 8th this year with $16 million donated.)

Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC): He proposed the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act, a bill to outlaw the sale of PCs or consumer electronics devices lacking copy protection.

Money trail: $282,534 from TV/music/movie contributors since 1997--his second-biggest supporting industry (after lawyers and law firms, who gave $1,213,475).

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA): The Berman P2P bill gives copyright holders legal immunity to attack P2P networks to hinder file-sharing, if the U.S. Attorney General has been notified. Files on users' PCs can't be damaged.

Money trail: $570,000 from TV/music/movie donors since 1993. He is the leading recipient of entertainment industry money in the House.

Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC): Coble was the original sponsor of the 1998 DMCA and is cosponsoring Berman's proposed P2P bill.

Money trail: $151,021 from TV/movie/music donors since 1993. Since 2000, law firms are his top contributors, with the entertainment industry a close second. He is the number two recipient of music industry funds in the House.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA): Boucher has been an outspoken critic of the DMCA since its passage in 1998. He has been trying to rally support within Congress to amend the DMCA to explicitly affirm fair use.

Money trail: $26,125 from computer industry donors in the current election cycle. Even bigger contributors to his war chest, however, are utilities ($57,902) and law firms ($31,250).