“Anti-Infringement” Software
I have seen some outrageous things these past few years regarding copyright laws but this one beats them all. The United States government is always trying to figure out how best to handle intellectual property rights, so it has asked the concerned parties to submit all sorts of information in order to better understand what’s going on.
What the RIAA and MPAA have submitted borders on the insane. One of the solutions they came up with involves making computer users install anti-infringement software on their computers. This software would then scan the hard drive looking for any evidence of any pirated or illegal content and then delete it.
There are several technologies and methods that can be used by network administrators and providers…these include [consumer] tools for managing copyright infringement from the home (based on tools used to protect consumers from viruses and malware).
I guess they think consumers will voluntarily install software such as this on their computers? I think this solution is full of flaws. First of all I don’t think any self-respecting pirate would install something like this on their computer. The only people who would install it are the people who don’t pirate stuff. Secondly, if this is forced upon users then pirates will just use encryption or hand to hand sharing techniques.
Customs authorities should be encouraged to do more to educate the traveling public and
entrants into the United States about these issues. In particular, points of entry into the
United States are underused venues for educating the public about the threat to our
economy (and to public safety) posed by counterfeit and pirate products. Customs forms
should be amended to require the disclosure of pirate or counterfeit items being brought
into the United States.
They also want all digital devices checked for illegal content when you cross international borders. As if getting through an airport is tough enough if you want to bring your own shampoo or finger nail clippers with you, now they want to dig through your iPod or laptop. “Are those songs on your iPod ripped from a friend’s CD? Are those movies you ripped to your laptop before you left your house? We need to confiscate these items, they are against the law now.”
This is not a world I want to live in.
Will it happen? I doubt it. This is just their wish list in which they are practically asking for the moon. They might make the software but only a fraction of the consumers would use it. It would probably only run on Windows and Mac operating systems and I can see no way they would be able to force Linux users to use the software. With Windows or Mac they could have the software pre-installed but that isn’t the way Linux works.
If you want to read more you can download this PDF file which explains exactly what they want to happen. I encourage everyone to leave a comment and voice your opinion on this matter.
