The Fritz-chip is a nickname for the hardware component of a software-execution monitoring system now known as the Trusted Platform Module. The name refers to former United States Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, who sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at favoring copyright holders in digital matters, including one (the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act) that aimed to mandate the inclusion of such a chip in every computer. The term is typically used derisively by those opposed to digital rights management (DRM) in the context of Trusted Computing.
See also
- Trusted Platform Module -- The Fritz chip
- Hengzhi chip -- Chinese version of the chip
- Trusted Computing Group
