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March 27, 2002

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Les Vadasz Stands Up to Senator Hollings

Back in the good old days, we thought that Senator Hollings had backed off on the SSSCA and that Hollywood would merely sneak it in through mini-SSSCAs like the BPDG's "consensus."

We were privileged, then, to watch Intel co-founder Leslie Vadasz stand up and speak the truth in the Hollings Hearings. Never mind that he was pooh-poohed by Hollings and his cronies, he stood up and provided a role-model for other tech execs. The EFFector from that week let Les know how much we appreciated his bravery:

Leslie Vadasz, one of the founders of Intel, had the chips to show up at Senator Fritz Holling's hearings last week and let Congress know that Intel, an Amercian company that pours $13.5 billion dollars into the U.S. economy every year, wants the freedom to independently negotiate the specifications for its equipment with the studios, without Congressional intervention.

This attitude is something we need to encourage! Senator Hollings conducted his hearings as a private discussion between the studios and the gadget companies, without any representation from consumers or even civil liberties organizations. The closest thing we have to an advocate in these critical proceedings are the electronics, computer and software companies.

Posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:57 PM