[IP] more on Antipiracy bill targets technology
Begin forwarded message:
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: June 19, 2004 1:22:19 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: lauren@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] Antipiracy bill targets technology
A bill called the Induce Act is scheduled to come before the Senate
sometime next week. If passed, it would make whoever "aids, abets,
induces (or) counsels" copyright violations liable for those
violations.
Dave,
The Act would seemingly clearly cover *all* e-mail systems as well,
since
*anything* that can be transmitted via a file-sharing network can be
encoded
for e-mail transmission, including to very large numbers of recipients.
The Induce Act appears to be the most wrong-headed, counter-productive,
anti-technology, anti-innovation idea since bans on printing presses.
In
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame," the archdeacon says of the printing
press vs.
the church, "This will kill that. The book will kill the edifice." The
thinking behind the Induce Act is of a similar philosophical bent, with
the
added "bonus" of helping the entertainment behemoths fortify their
stranglehold on speech and communications, with the aid of their
minions in
Congress.
The Induce Act isn't about protecting children, since it won't
accomplish
that goal -- anti-children activities will simply move deeply
underground
into highly masked and intractable communications channels.
Rather, the Act is about money -- big money. The main reaction the
Induce Act should induce in most thoughtful observers is the
urge to vomit.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@xxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility -
http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
Cooperation and Analysis - http://www.uriica.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://www.vortex.com/lauren-blog
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