Digital security fomenting a feud

Hollings’ spokesman, Andy Davis, says the hearing is meant to discuss whether the government must step in and mandate standards — which Hollywood believes will allow movies to be distributed safely online, spur high-speed Internet access, and boost hardware sales. The idea is opposed by many technology firms, programmers and open-source devotees.

“The technology community doesn’t want any standards regardless of what form they take. There’s an impasse that needs to be bridged if we want to create broadband services and increase consumer demand for those services,” Davis said on Tuesday.

MPAA’s Jack Valenti, the consummate Washington insider, launched a pre-emptive strike this week in the pages of The Washington Post. In an opinion article published Monday, Valenti said the movie industry is eager to distribute its wares online — but is afraid of widespread piracy.

Valenti wrote: “What’s keeping the movie industry from making its creativity theft-proof? Simply put, in order to transport movies as agreed to by the consumer on a rent, buy, or pay-per-view basis with heightened security, computers and video devices must be prepared to react to instructions embedded in the film.”