Arlington, Va. — Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president/CEO Gary Shapiro today lambasted the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) concerning a letter the latter group sent to Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) that discussed copyright issues.
Shapiro said in a written statement the letter contained information that the RIAA has avoided participating in the copy-protection technical working group because the music industry group does not want to change its business model.
“We are pleased to see the RIAA letter finally confirmed, as we have long suspected, that no technical specification for an audio flag, or in fact anything else, exists and that the RIAA has stayed away from the copy-protection technical working group in part because it has nothing to propose,” Shapiro said, “The letter also confirms that the RIAA’s interest lies solely in preserving its existing ways of business, with the hope that it can maximize profits by limiting innovation and undermining long-standing consumer rights.
Shapiro added that the CEA remains committed to working with the music industry to address concerns over the mass, indiscriminate redistribution of copyrighted material over the Internet.
An RIAA spokesman could not be reached for comment as of press time.
