The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

28 November 2006

This is a joke

At least, so far it is:

The [Motion Picture Association of America] is lobbying Congress to push through a new bill that would make unauthorized home theaters illegal. The group feels that all theaters should be sanctioned, whether they be commercial settings or at home.

MPAA head Dan Glickman says this needs to be regulated before things start getting too far out of control, "We didn't act early enough with the online sharing of our copyrighted content. This time we're not making the same mistake. We have a right to know what's showing in a theater."

The bill would require that any hardware manufactured in the future contain technology that tells the MPAA directly of what is being shown and specific details on the audience. The data would be gathered using various motion sensors and biometric technology.

The MPAA defines a home theater as any home with a television larger than 29" with stereo sound and at least two comfortable chairs, couch, or futon. Anyone with a home theater would need to pay a $50 registration fee with the MPAA or face fines up to $500,000 per movie shown.

Again: this is a joke.

Glickman is probably even now kicking himself for not thinking of it first.

(Someone submitted this to Fark not suspecting that it was, in fact, a joke.)

Posted at 9:04 AM to Bogus History


"This has been a joke. If it had been an actual idiotic idea, you still would have thought it was a joke. Which, that's probably for the best anyway."

Posted by: McGehee at 2:44 PM on 28 November 2006

Yeah, it's a joke NOW. You know some suck-up brown-nosers at the Motion Picture Ass. of America will think it's a great idea and submit it as its own. The idea would be implemented in 3 years, the weasel gets a six-figure salary, and we'll be stuck with another piece of busted techonology (like Windows XP and its DRM).

Posted by: Dan B at 9:30 AM on 29 November 2006