Given the political question, the answer was bound to be political too, so
people who are sensitive about that, please pass on to the next posting...
Thanks you.
On Thu, Apr 04, 2002, Omer Zak wrote about "DMCA, SSSCA/CBDTPA related laws in
Israel?":
> 1. Is there anyone with legal background and familiarity with the
> lawmaking work in the Knesset, who can tell us if there is any risk
> that laws like the DMCA or SSSCA/CBDTPA will be enacted in Israel?
I have no legal background (luckily), but a passing interest in democracy,
liberty, forms of government and things like that.
To understand why Americans are (rightfully) upset about stuff like the DMCA,
you have to understand their traditions of personal liberties. An American
was supposed to be free not just from the government forcing stuff on him,
but also from the church, local government, and even unscrupulous companies
(see the Sherman Act, for example, and the breakup of Standard Oil, AT&T,
and now the investigation against Microsoft. See also the suits against the
tobacco companies. All these things show that companies are tools that are
supposed to serve humans, not the other way around).
This is why things like software patents, the DMCA, excessive litigation,
and so on, looks to Americans like unconstitutional limiting of their
liberties. In my opinion they are right.
Now in Israel, how exactly will a law like DMCA be different than laws and
"de facto" "rules" we see all around us? The government, religious
establishment, army, and even companies force you to do stuff that would
be unimaginable in the US. You are not allowed to serve bread in a certain
week of the year, you can be refused a job or place of study because of
your faith or ethnic origin, you are not allowed to marry whomever you
want (unless you can afford leaving the country), you (depending again on
your ethnic origin) are forced into slave-labor for 3 years (with a salary
which is 1/10 of the minimum wage). Your real choices when it comes to
banking, phone service, cable company, radio, and so on are severely limited.
In addition to heavy direct taxes (income tax) and indirect taxes (VAT), you
are charged weird special taxes, like a special penalty for buying a TV
(meches), or a special penalty for getting a mortgage (mas bulim). If you
buy a TV, you are forced to pay a certain company ("Rashut Hashidur") for
their single channel - whether you like it or not. Most of these laws
(except income tax and VAT) serve no social purpose except to glorify
certain politicians, religions, companies or agenda.
So other than the fact that the DMCA is "bad", I unfortunately don't see
how far it is from the current Israeli legislators' ways of thought. Most
of them won't even see what could be wrong with such a law ("it will make
my rich friends and patrons happy? it will bring more taxes? bring it on!").
I think what we really need now is a constution, and a strong, impartial
(especially to political and commercial agendas) supreme court to limit
the rulers-du-jour from acting like Robespierre and the Jacobins in the
French revolution (they believed that an "The spirit of the people may
reside in an enlightened minority" (the elected people) and this "enlightened
minority" should be able to do anything it pleases. Unfortunately some
political parties in the Knesset seem to think the same...).
Anyway, even if we never have a constitution ( :( ), there are additional
factors which will lower the chances of a DMCA-like law being accepted
in Israel soon:
1. Most of the "evil" industry, like the MPAA, RIAA, Microsoft and their
ilk are not Israeli. Israeli legislators will not have much interest
to pass laws upsetting their constituents and only benefiting foreign
industries.
Of course, if such laws in the US will limit what is produced (like the
disgusting DVD standard), we'll suffer in Israel too, because Israeli
doesn't have much of an independent electronics industry to speak of.
2. Israel has more a "socialistic" orientation than the US, and personal
freedoms are regarded here more than freedom of companies.
Unfortunately this is only theoretic; In reality, politicians are friends
with and get kickback from rich industrialists and care more about these
friends of theirs than about the poor joes who voted for them.
> 2. Are there any international treaties, to which Israel is signatory,
> which require it to pass such laws?
I doubt that. Israel is already on a blacklist of copyright infringement and
on a blacklist of money laundering, and it is very, very, slow on doing
anything about these issues.
> 3. If yes, is there anything which we can do to prevent the passage of
> those laws?
Never vote for parties that act against your personal freedoms.
I won't tell you which, but it's not hard to figure out... Recent supreme
court rulings might also help you recognize those politicians which you
shouldn't be voting for.
--
Nadav Har'El | Friday, Apr 5 2002, 23 Nisan 5762
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