real6
08-02-2008, 03:01 PM
RIAA wants content filters and proposes spyware too
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/080208filters.htm
For video go to:
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1388
RIAA chief calls for copyright filters on PCs
Austin Modine
The Register
Friday February 8, 2008
When is a virus not a virus? When it's sending your personal data to the Recording Industry Association of America, silly.
Internet advocacy website Public Knowledge has posted a highlight reel from the State of the Net Conference, where RIAA boss Cary Sherman suggests that internet filtering sorely lacks the personal touch of spyware.
While ISP-level filtering dragnets such as those proposed by AT&T have their way of catching the sloppier digital music thieves out there, the technology is more-or-less bypassed by basic file encryption.
(Article continues below)
That's why Sherman recommends finding a way to install filtering software directly onto people's home PCs.
"One could have a filter on the end-user's computer that would actually eliminate any benefit from encryption. Because if you want to hear it [the music], you would need to decrypt it. At that point the filter could work," said Sherman.
"Why would somebody want to put that on their machine? They wouldn't likely want to do that," mused Sherman.
Why indeed?
"They'd do that when it benefits them such as for viruses and so on and so forth. But that's the sort of thing that could be enforced whether at the modem or something that's put in by an ISP."
Ah, trickery. But perhaps you'll need some rationalization so it doesn't sound like your average run-of-the-mill nefarious spyware.
"I don't think you should underestimate the educational benefit of these kind of things. A lot of this is basically letting people know that what you're doing here is not OK."
Education. Perfect. If history is any judge, we're sure the RIAA's legal department will find a very reasonable and scholarly way of setting a person back on the straight and narrow. Meanwhile the vast majority who don't steal music will be happy knowing the RIAA is scanning every packet of their incoming data in the name of academia.
Catch the highlights here. Or see the full conference here (watching an hour of streaming Real Player video is done at your own risk).
Last week, many in the beltway attended the State of the Net Conference put on by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus. The second panel discussion was on content filters. It was a lively panel, and how could it not be, Gigi and Cary Sherman were on it!
The panel went on for an hour, which is kind of long for any one with just a casual interest to stream over the Internet (Real Player video). I wanted to make sure that folks saw some of what I thought were the more important statements about content filtering—straight from the source: the RIAA.
(If the video above doesn’t load, please be patient, I just posted it to YouTube).
In this abridged six minutes of video, Sherman addresses four questions about filtering:
*
What’s the RIAA’s stance on content filtering?
*
What about encryption?
*
What about fair use?
*
Should Congress mandate filters for ISPs?
Lastly, Chris Soghoian asks Sherman about the legality of ripping CDs to your iPod.
Perhaps the most interesting part comes as a response to Question 2, where Sherman essentially proposes placing spyware on users' computers to get around the “problem” of encryption:
Filters can be put in the applications for example. You know, one could have a filter on the end user’s computer that would actually eliminate any benefit from…encryption because if you want to hear it, you’d have to decrypt it, and at that point the filter could work.
And he goes on to say the spyware might be in your virus checker or media player, or even in an ISP-provided modem or somewhere else under the ISP’s control. But fear not, it's just to "notify" you so you learn what's right and wrong.
Don’t believe me? Watch the video.
What's next, our keyboards will shock us when we download the wrong music?
If you care about issues of fair use and net neutrality, you owe it to yourself to learn how the recording industry would like to change the Internet, in the name of protecting its music.
And for the record, the video excerpts were used here without permission for purposes of political criticism and comment. These clips were selected sequentially and edited for time and not to change the meaning of any of the statements.
At least it’s a
Submitted by John Bergmayer on February 7, 2008 - 1:05pm.
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/080208filters.htm
For video go to:
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1388
RIAA chief calls for copyright filters on PCs
Austin Modine
The Register
Friday February 8, 2008
When is a virus not a virus? When it's sending your personal data to the Recording Industry Association of America, silly.
Internet advocacy website Public Knowledge has posted a highlight reel from the State of the Net Conference, where RIAA boss Cary Sherman suggests that internet filtering sorely lacks the personal touch of spyware.
While ISP-level filtering dragnets such as those proposed by AT&T have their way of catching the sloppier digital music thieves out there, the technology is more-or-less bypassed by basic file encryption.
(Article continues below)
That's why Sherman recommends finding a way to install filtering software directly onto people's home PCs.
"One could have a filter on the end-user's computer that would actually eliminate any benefit from encryption. Because if you want to hear it [the music], you would need to decrypt it. At that point the filter could work," said Sherman.
"Why would somebody want to put that on their machine? They wouldn't likely want to do that," mused Sherman.
Why indeed?
"They'd do that when it benefits them such as for viruses and so on and so forth. But that's the sort of thing that could be enforced whether at the modem or something that's put in by an ISP."
Ah, trickery. But perhaps you'll need some rationalization so it doesn't sound like your average run-of-the-mill nefarious spyware.
"I don't think you should underestimate the educational benefit of these kind of things. A lot of this is basically letting people know that what you're doing here is not OK."
Education. Perfect. If history is any judge, we're sure the RIAA's legal department will find a very reasonable and scholarly way of setting a person back on the straight and narrow. Meanwhile the vast majority who don't steal music will be happy knowing the RIAA is scanning every packet of their incoming data in the name of academia.
Catch the highlights here. Or see the full conference here (watching an hour of streaming Real Player video is done at your own risk).
Last week, many in the beltway attended the State of the Net Conference put on by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus. The second panel discussion was on content filters. It was a lively panel, and how could it not be, Gigi and Cary Sherman were on it!
The panel went on for an hour, which is kind of long for any one with just a casual interest to stream over the Internet (Real Player video). I wanted to make sure that folks saw some of what I thought were the more important statements about content filtering—straight from the source: the RIAA.
(If the video above doesn’t load, please be patient, I just posted it to YouTube).
In this abridged six minutes of video, Sherman addresses four questions about filtering:
*
What’s the RIAA’s stance on content filtering?
*
What about encryption?
*
What about fair use?
*
Should Congress mandate filters for ISPs?
Lastly, Chris Soghoian asks Sherman about the legality of ripping CDs to your iPod.
Perhaps the most interesting part comes as a response to Question 2, where Sherman essentially proposes placing spyware on users' computers to get around the “problem” of encryption:
Filters can be put in the applications for example. You know, one could have a filter on the end user’s computer that would actually eliminate any benefit from…encryption because if you want to hear it, you’d have to decrypt it, and at that point the filter could work.
And he goes on to say the spyware might be in your virus checker or media player, or even in an ISP-provided modem or somewhere else under the ISP’s control. But fear not, it's just to "notify" you so you learn what's right and wrong.
Don’t believe me? Watch the video.
What's next, our keyboards will shock us when we download the wrong music?
If you care about issues of fair use and net neutrality, you owe it to yourself to learn how the recording industry would like to change the Internet, in the name of protecting its music.
And for the record, the video excerpts were used here without permission for purposes of political criticism and comment. These clips were selected sequentially and edited for time and not to change the meaning of any of the statements.
At least it’s a
Submitted by John Bergmayer on February 7, 2008 - 1:05pm.