U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein yesterday introduced the PERFORM Act (Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006), which would ensure that all streaming media services used protected formats.

Because users can save songs on radio receivers without paying to download the content, this act would be a roadblock to prevent downloading in the future.

Ars Technica reports:

Under the rules set forth in the Act, you would be able to make automated sound recordings, but only based on "specific programs, time periods, or channels as selected by or for the user," but not on "specific sound recordings, albums, or artists." Once recorded, it would be illegal to process the recorded data in order to extract separate songs for later use.

The Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are preparing to battle the legislation. The HRRC and EFF both believe that consumers would no longer be able to enjoy the flexibility of digital technology because the legislation will destroy Internet radio.

This news article was written on April 28, 2006, quoting Ars Technica.