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..authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for illici |
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BStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 04.08.2002, 21:54
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BStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 29
Status: offline
last visit: 30.03.03
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[url] http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html?tag=prntfr[/url]
WASHINGTON--Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for illicit file trading.
A draft bill seen by CNET News.com marks the boldest political effort to date by record labels and movie studios to disrupt peer-to-peer networks that they view as an increasingly dire threat to their bottom line.
Sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., the measure would permit copyright holders to perform nearly unchecked electronic hacking if they have a "reasonable basis" to believe that piracy is taking place. Berman and Coble plan to introduce the 10-page bill this week. :mad2:
The legislation would immunize groups such as the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America from all state and federal laws if they disable, block or otherwise impair a "publicly accessible peer-to-peer network." :mad2:
Anyone whose computer was damaged in the process must receive the permission of the U.S. attorney general before filing a lawsuit, and a suit could be filed only if the actual monetary loss was more than $250.
According to the draft, the attorney general must be given complete details about the "specific technologies the copyright holder intends to use to impair" the normal operation of the peer-to-peer network. Those details would remain secret and would not be divulged to the public.
The draft bill doesn't specify what techniques, such as viruses, worms, denial-of-service attacks, or domain name hijacking, would be permissible. It does say that a copyright-hacker should not delete files, but it limits the right of anyone subject to an intrusion to sue if files are accidentally erased.
Because Congress only has about five work weeks left before it is scheduled to adjourn for the year, the outlook for the draft bill is uncertain.
But because its sponsors include top Republican and Democratic committee chairmen, it could receive a warm welcome in the House of Representatives at a hearing tentatively scheduled for this fall. Coble is the chairman of the House subcommittee on intellectual property, and Berman is the top Democrat on the panel.
Berman wrote in an opinion article this month that "currently, copyright owners are unable to use some useful technological tools to deal with P2P piracy because they face potential, if unintended, liability under a variety of state and federal laws."
"It's a good bill," Gene Smith, a spokeswoman for Berman, said on Monday. "It's always hard to defend theft and piracy--this bill just puts into the hands of the copyright owners technologies that are already being used by the pirates."
Smith said the purpose of the draft bill was to "fight fire with fire, fight technology with technology."
Jessica Litman, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in copyright law, said the draft bill improperly encourages "vigilante justice."
"I think it's wildly overreaching," Litman said. "Copyright owners are in essence asking Congress to say that peer-to-peer file trading is such a scourge, is so bad, that stopping it is more important than enforcing any other laws that federal or state governments may have passed on computer security, privacy, fraud and so forth."
Litman said that even if a copyright holder accidentally deleted a home video titled "Snow White," the owner of that PC could be out of luck. "Unless I can show economic harm, I can't even be compensated," Litman said. "Even if I want to be compensated, I have to jump through procedural hoops."
The film and music industries already are developing tools to use against rogue file swapping, though they've remained mum on the details. The RIAA says its members have the right to use any "lawful and appropriate self-help measure."
Fritz Attaway, the MPAA's senior vice president for government relations, endorsed Berman's approach on Monday, stressing that law-abiding Internet users should not be concerned.
"No one in the motion picture industry has any interest in invading your computer or doing anything malicious with your files," Attaway said. "The idea is to make unauthorized file sharing sufficiently inconvenient or at least unsuccessful."
The MPAA and RIAA did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned the draft bill as a sop to Hollywood and the recording industry.
Digital lockdown?
"This is part of a greater strategy that's being implemented by the entertainment industry to lock up and control digital information in general," said Robin Gross, an EFF staff attorney. "The rights that we've enjoyed in the analog space are now being taken away from us because we're entering a digital realm."
Gross said she was concerned by the broad grant of immunity to copyright holders who become computer intruders. "When they screw up, they don't want you to be able to get some sort of retribution from them," she said.
Other sponsors listed on the draft bill include key legislators such as Reps. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the full Judiciary committee, Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the chairman of a crime subcommittee, and Robert Wexler, D-Fla. Currently there is no companion legislation in the Senate.
The next step for the draft bill is the House Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property. A representative for Coble said earlier this month to expect a hearing starting in September, when Congress returns from its August recess.
Berman announced plans for the legislation during a speech to a Washington trade association last month. He represents California's San Fernando Valley, adjacent to Los Angeles and Hollywood's cluster of entertainment companies.
Coble and Berman have jointly written a second draft bill that could sharply limit Americans' rights relating to copying music, taping TV shows, or transferring files through the Internet. But they have said they do not necessarily endorse the plan's details. :mad2:
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CStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 05.08.2002, 13:38
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CStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 58
Status: offline
last visit: 18.01.07
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I don't understand how this will effect me or mine... please clarify.
:casstet:
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BStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 05.08.2002, 14:46
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BStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 29
Status: offline
last visit: 30.03.03
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It would legally allow the music industry to hack, disable, nuke, delete files, or install a virus on your computer without any legal retribution from the consumer. I for one strongly disagree with this proposal. They only need "probable cause" to snoop through your computer. :mad2:
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CStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 05.08.2002, 15:03
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CStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 58
Status: offline
last visit: 18.01.07
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That's no good! If the music industry can intrude on our privacy... who's next? If there a link to where we can object to this proposal? :exclam:
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BStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 05.08.2002, 23:46
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BStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 29
Status: offline
last visit: 30.03.03
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Who posted the last comment?
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dfenjrOLDMB
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Posted: 06.08.2002, 10:45
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dfenjrOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 13
Status: offline
last visit: 27.11.02
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What a pile...I cannot even think of this as a solution. All it will do is cause the PC User's to invent ways to protect their PC's again. This is really a forced reaction to a stupic action.
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dfenjrOLDMB
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Posted: 06.08.2002, 10:49
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dfenjrOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 13
Status: offline
last visit: 27.11.02
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I also forgot another thing.
PLEASE SEND MESSAGES TO EVERY PERSON INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL MESS...YOUR CONGRESS REPRESENTATIVES, YOUR SENATE REPS, YOUR STATE SENATE AND CONGRESS REPS, YOUR COUNTY REPS...YES EVEN TO THE WHITE HOUSE OCCUPANTS.
A SWIFT, FIRM, STRONG REACTION FROM EACH FROM ONE-TENTH OF THE PC USERS WOULD STOP THIS SCAM COLD.
Donald R. Fenrich, Jr.
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BStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 01.09.2002, 20:49
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BStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 29
Status: offline
last visit: 30.03.03
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In response to my original posting.
[b] RIAA Site Hacked[/b]
Foe of music-swapping finds its own site offering free downloads, thanks to hackers.
[b]
Ashlee Vance, IDG News Service
Wednesday, August 28, 2002[/b]
The Recording Industry Association of America's Web site apparently was hacked Wednesday, forcing the music industry backer into a most unnatural act: [b] Providing free music for download.[/b]
The RIAA has led the fight against the trading of copyright music on the Internet, but now hackers have returned attack. They altering the organization's home page, changed some content on the site, and made music available for download. Users flocked to the Web site called Fark.com Wednesday morning to display screen shots of the RIAA's altered Web site and to list the songs they were able to download.
"There is a problem with our site that we are fixing," said an RIAA spokesperson who declined to be named. "It should be back up shortly." The RIAA is declining to provide any details about when the "problem" with its Web site began or to confirm that the site was hacked.
[b] Apparent Retaliation[/b]
The changes made to the RIAA site appeared to be retaliation for a lawsuit filed by the organization earlier in August against a Chinese music download site, www.listen4ever.com. The RIAA dropped its suit against the site last week after the site was taken offline. The RIAA Web site has also been hit by denial of service attacks in recent weeks in which computers controlled by hackers bombarded the site with requests, making it unavailable to most users.
A message on the apparently hacked RIAA's Web site said, "The RIAA wishes to apologize for the heavy-handed manner in which the popular chinese [sic] site Listen4Ever was closed down, and would like to present the following items for free download as a token of its goodwill." The altered RIAA home page included a link to that message, which was also available at fark.com.
The message went on to say: "Of course the list is relatively small, but please be patient--we expect to offer over 300 next week. We also intend to offer pre-released movies in the coming months."
[b] Eventually Unusable[/b]
Some users were apparently able to download songs from the RIAA site for several hours early Wednesday until it became unreachable due either to heavy traffic or the RIAA taking the site down.
Other links on the hacked home page led to messages such as "Piracy can be beneficial to the music industry."
The RIAA has filed lawsuits against several music-trading sites over the last two years, most notably Napster. It has garnered considerable scorn from music fans who used Napster and similar sites.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,104550,tk,dn082802X,00.asp
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CStonerOLDMB
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Posted: 04.09.2002, 13:18
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CStonerOLDMB
registered: Nov. 2002
Posts: 58
Status: offline
last visit: 18.01.07
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I saw this on the news the other night and they are calling it a "Downright War"! Personally, I don't think hacking into their site (Internet Terrorism?) is the way to handle this problem, but I bet it will make them think about what they want to do. Keep us posted on what transpires Brad, this could be history in the making... ;)
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