House Report No. 105-551(Part 2) (Committee on Commerce) (pages 40-41):
With respect to the effectiveness of technological protection measures, the Committee believes it is important to stress as well that those measures that cause noticeable and recurring adverse effects on the authorized display or performance of works should not be deemed to be effective. Unless product designers are adequately consulted about the design and implementation of technological protection measures (and the means of preserving copyright management information), such measures may cause severe "playability" problems. The Committee on Commerce is particularly concerned that the introduction of such measures not impede the introduction of digital television monitors or new digital audio playback devices. The Committee has a strong, long-standing interest in encouraging the introduction in the market of exciting new products. Recently, for example, the Committee learned that, as initially proposed, a proprietary copy protection scheme that is today widely used to protect analog motion pictures could have caused significant viewability problems, including noticeable artifacts, with certain television sets until it was modified with the cooperation of the consumer electronics industry.

Under the bill as reported, nothing would make it illegal for a manufacturer of a product or device (to which Section 102 would otherwise apply) to design or modify the product or device solely to the extent necessary to mitigate a frequently occurring and noticeable adverse effect on the authorized performance or display of a work that is caused by a technological protection measure in the ordinary course of its design and operation. Similarly, recognizing that a technological protection measure may cause a problem with a particular device, or combination of devices, used by a consumer, it is the Committee’s view that nothing in the bill should be interpreted to make it illegal for a retailer or individual consumer to modify a product or device solely to the extent necessary to mitigate a noticeable adverse effect on the authorized performance or display of a work that is communicated to or received by that particular product or device if that adverse effect is caused by a technological protection measure in the ordinary course of its design and operation.

The Committee believes that the affected industries should be able to work together to avoid such problems. The Committee is aware that multi-industry efforts to develop copy control technologies that are both effective and avoid such noticeable and recurring adverse effects have been underway over the past two years. The Committee strongly encourages the continuation of those efforts, which it views as offering substantial benefits to copyright owners in whose interest it is to achieve the introduction of effective technological protection (and copyright management information) measures that do not interfere with the normal operations of affected products.