more on Antipiracy bill targets technology

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: June 19, 2004 1:22:19 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
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 () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () privacyforum org
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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