Antipiracy bill gains new allies

With all the strife & terrorist fears in the world today, it's "gratifying" to note that big business never sleeps in its determination to keep its profits. Or something like that.

In a move that's alarming technology firms, the U.S. Copyright Office is about to endorse new legislation that would outlaw peer-to-peer networks and possibly some consumer electronics devices that could be used for copyright piracy. Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, is planning to announce her support for the measure at a Senate hearing on Thursday. The Induce Act, which critics warn could imperil products like Apple Computer's iPod, is an "important improvement over existing law," according to a copy of her statement seen by CNET News.com.

news.com.com...

Hardware & e-commerce firms are already worried about legal liability if their products are used for copyright violation. [One firm whose product enabled a ONE-TIME ONLY backup of DVD movies that were owned by the householder, says that it is considering bankruptcy as a means to relieving itself of lawsuits - 321 Studios
www.theregister.co.uk... ]

There are other ramifications to this story, such as P2P & even Apple's iPod - see first link for these.

An update on this is appropriate. Senator Hatch is evidently pulling out all stops to get this legislation pushed through. The proposed Bill has far more consequences than I initially imagined.

At first sight, the concerns of some hardware manufacturers may be of little interest to us, although it seems noteworthy that Apple's iPod seems unlikely to be affected. But there's more. P2P networks aren't the only ones in protest, as I expected. There are dissenting voices within privacy and civil rights groups too.

This is highly punitive legislation, allowing as it does for high fines. wire-tapping, and even prison terms. It is being framed in such a fashion as to violate privacy rights that are accorded to minors.

And maybe the bulk of ATS members do not participate in P2P file-sharing, but are we sure that our children & young friends have nothing to fear? I feel it would be advisable to check out this scene from the provided links, then you can make an informed decision as to whether any of this could impact you and yours in a negative way.



Civil Rights

More here -

www.eff.org...
www.dslreports.com...
news.com.com...