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WASHINGTON--A coalition of technology company heavyweights and consumer groups have joined the chorus of voices urging the U.S. government not to require anticopying schemes on PCs.

The Alliance for Digital Progress (ADP), a lobbying group of 27 technology companies, consumer groups, and think tanks, was launched Thursday to oppose such mandates. It organized in response to lobbying by the Motion Picture Association of America, which seeks copy protection legislation from the U.S. Congress. Among the members of ADP are technology companies Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Apple. Participating consumer groups include Consumer Alert, DigitalConsumer.org, and 60 Plus Association.

Mandates Opposed

Frederick McClure, president of the fledgling group, said the ADP will fight government copy-protection mandates. He says it endorses private-sector methods of solving what he called a "problem with digital piracy."

"We oppose efforts by Hollywood to use the government to design anti-copying technology and [to] require all digital devices to be built using that technology," said McClure, a former legislative advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. "But make no mistake, the organizations here today also are committed to protecting digital content."

Earlier in January, the Recording Industry of America joined two major technology associations in also calling for Congress to stay away from copy-protection mandates. The Business Software Alliance and the Computer Systems Policy Project, which joined the RIAA last week, are also part of the Alliance for Digital Progress, although the RIAA is not.

While McClure didn't mention it by name, it was clear his coalition would target any reintroduction of Sen. Fritz Hollings' Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act. Introduced last session, the bill mandates copy-control technology on all digital devices. A statement from the senior citizens group 60 Plus Association calls the South Carolina Democrat's bill "a prime example of government reach out of control."

The MPAA supported the Hollings bill and continues to say a law regarding Internet-based file-trading may be needed. Neither Hollings' office nor the MPAA had an immediate comment on the ADP announcement.

Flexibility Urged

"It is clear to us there is no easy answer, there is no one-size-fits-all solution," McClure said. "Yet, that is exactly what Hollywood is asking Congress to do. They're asking lawmakers to design a technology solution to the problem, and then force companies to use that technology in every one of their products."

McClure argues that Hollywood doesn't need help from the government. He presented a chart showing the U.S. motion picture industry's revenues rising each year since 1997.

Also, 72 percent of U.S. residents believe the best way to address digital piracy is through the private sector, he said, citing a nationwide poll conducted by The Mellman Group and Fabrizio, McLaughlin and Associates. The poll ran January 17 to 19, and surveyed 1000 U.S. adults; its margin of error was 3.1 percent.

Private companies could create better copy protection than the government, McClure argues. He pointed to the DVD as a quickly growing product that came from consumer demand and partnerships between the technology and entertainment industries.

"It's the quick-fix legislative, regulatory mandate in the mode of replacing marketplace solutions that we worry about," he said. "Let the government do the designing, do the implementing, and I guarantee it'll cost more and do less."

No Stand on DMCA

The Alliance, which has launched a Web site, has not taken a stand on the digital broadcast flag being considered by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The anticopying code for television signals sprang from private-industry discussions between the television industry and TV makers, McClure said.

Also, ADP has no plans to lobby for or against legislation related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, McClure said. "We are not about the scope of copyright law," he said.

McClure declined to disclose a budget for ADP, which members have talked about forming since the fall of 2002, but he said the group continues to recruit more members and will be active on Capitol Hill.

"Take it from me, we'll do whatever is necessary to fulfill the mission that is espoused by the members of our organization," he said. "We're going to pan out and go to Capitol Hill, and we're going to educate the administration. You will see us everywhere."

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• Alliance for Digital Progress,
• ADP,
• copyright,
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• copy controls,
• RIAA,
• MPAA,
• broadcast flag,
• DMCA,
• Hollings,
• government,
• Congress