I believe in copyright. I believe in respecting the rights of a producer of a creative work, and am willing to extend that to the people whom that producer sells the works to.
On the other hand, it’s awfully hard to carry that belief too far along the road that the Content Owners in Hollywood are looking to travel.
If you or I asked Congress for permission to legally hack other people’s computers, we’d be laughed off Capitol Hill. Then we’d be investigated by the FBI and every other agency concerned with criminal violations of privacy and security.
Then again, you and I aren’t part of the movie and music business. We aren’t as powerful as an industry that knows no bounds in its paranoia and greed, a cartel that boasts enough money and public-relations talent to turn Congress into a marionette.
Yes, in addition to trying to get laws passed (and, in most cases, succeeding) to outlaw anything which might possibly be used to infringe on their beloved, ever-lengthening copyrights, Hollywood (through folks such as Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-Disney), and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Hollywood) — both of whom go to show why Democratic screeds against Big Business are more common than actual Democratic action) wants permission from Congress to literally be exempt from prosecution if they hack into computer networks or individual computers in pursuit of copyright infringement.
I, the Jury, indeed.
And, given that the DMCA which they managed to get passed outlaws even discussing how to circumvent copyright measures, no doubt discussion of how to block Hollywood hacking will also be illegal and subject to prosecution, fine and imprisonment.
I’ll say it again — these guys make the Ashcroft cabal look like pikers, because they don’t even have to pretend to support the Constitution. Though their congressional supporters should be ashamed of themselves.
(I note, with some irony, the hugely intrusive IBM ad in the middle of the page that reads, “Hackers are Knocking …”)
(Via InstaPundit)