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RIAA plans will cripple the Internet
Opinion Along with your PC
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By Paul Leba: Monday 26 August 2002, 16:57
IN THE CORNER of a dark hazy room you hear the whispers of aluminum and copper clad multi gigahertz, water-cooled, and over clocked computing behemoths on an ATM fiber T3 gigabyte network under the command of the most heinous hackers in history, and with only one goal in mind, to hunt down the international P2P network of evil doers.
This gang of thugs is under the command of non other then the RIAA. Sounds like a synopsis of Vin Diesel's next action flick, but this is not fantasy, it's soon to be fact, a reality brought to you by your friendly neighborhood RIAA branch.
The recent announcement by the RIAA that they will take law enforcement into their own hands in order to punish P2P evil doers is disturbing. The RIAA intends to use hackers to intrude into the computers of private individuals on file sharing P2P networks. This is outrageous and maybe the greatest form of government supported invasion of privacy that the US (and the world) has ever seen! The RIAA is attempting to rewrite law.
Who the hell does the RIAA think they are? I can sympathize with the need to protect intellectual property, however the blatant use of hackers to target users computers will lead to a fierce backlash from P2P users. Actually it's already begun – see here . I believe that this crusade that the RIAA is on is a legitimate one but the strategy is flawed.
The idea that the RIAA will hack into users' computers teters on the edge of the most moronic ideas I have ever heard of. I'm getting flashbacks to my days in high school when I read Fahrenheit 451. Does this organisation really think that it will get away with it?
The answer is it does, and it will. I have a few questions and observations for the RIAA that I believe can shed some light on the situation for them on why exactly this is the dumbest idea since the advent of the Flowbee.
I truly don't believe that the RIAA understands that it could dethrone Al Qaeda as public enemy #1.
Scenario 1
RIAA hackers enter a computer on a P2P network and wipe the MP3 files off the PC, but willingly or unwillingly release a virus and/or Trojan horse that leads to problems or system failure. Can the RIAA deal with the multitude of class action lawsuits that will follow these actions?
Scenario 2
Let's say an unscrupulous user sets up their system to fail if an intrusion is detected from an RIAA related IP, then sues the RIAA for damage. Can they handle the onslaught of similar charges?
How is the RIAA going to stop private FTPs, email, and newsgroups from swapping MP3s? The reality is that the RIAA can't. In the end, this joke of an attempt to attack computers on the net will end up slowing the net down because the only true weapon the RIAA has is ISP intimidation. I have some advice for the RIAA that could help it little.
The RIAA should adopt an action plan that is PR based and consumer friendly. The RIAA obviously has no understanding of PR and how to get its point across to the public. It should attempt to paint a picture for the public that harks back to the image of the Allies landing on Normandy, while right now it comes off looking like the Gestapo. The RIAA needs to direct a promotional campaign to the general public that both informs and educates the virtues of why P2P networks represent a fundamental breakdown in the process that brought them the music to listen to in the first place. The RIAA should also push recording companies to have download services that are pay-as-you-play. In other words you pay, let's say, 50 cents for a song and it's yours to download.
Currently the RIAA has a major image problem. It represents billion dollar recording companies and several dozen multimillion dollar recording artists. This position will not garnish any public sympathy from anyone; imagine the girl next door thinking "poorL XYZ Recording Company Executive can't buy a new Porsche because I'm trading 100 Gigs worth of MP3s on-line; screw them!" The RIAA needs to build an image that they are the representatives of small struggling artists that need the revenue from CD sales, which is in fact true.
The protection of intellectual property is a fundamental part of the foundation of our beloved "Laissez Faire" economy and if we don't defend it then the RIAA will screw with our PCs and slow the internet in the process! µ
Opinion Along with your PC
link
By Paul Leba: Monday 26 August 2002, 16:57
IN THE CORNER of a dark hazy room you hear the whispers of aluminum and copper clad multi gigahertz, water-cooled, and over clocked computing behemoths on an ATM fiber T3 gigabyte network under the command of the most heinous hackers in history, and with only one goal in mind, to hunt down the international P2P network of evil doers.
This gang of thugs is under the command of non other then the RIAA. Sounds like a synopsis of Vin Diesel's next action flick, but this is not fantasy, it's soon to be fact, a reality brought to you by your friendly neighborhood RIAA branch.
The recent announcement by the RIAA that they will take law enforcement into their own hands in order to punish P2P evil doers is disturbing. The RIAA intends to use hackers to intrude into the computers of private individuals on file sharing P2P networks. This is outrageous and maybe the greatest form of government supported invasion of privacy that the US (and the world) has ever seen! The RIAA is attempting to rewrite law.
Who the hell does the RIAA think they are? I can sympathize with the need to protect intellectual property, however the blatant use of hackers to target users computers will lead to a fierce backlash from P2P users. Actually it's already begun – see here . I believe that this crusade that the RIAA is on is a legitimate one but the strategy is flawed.
The idea that the RIAA will hack into users' computers teters on the edge of the most moronic ideas I have ever heard of. I'm getting flashbacks to my days in high school when I read Fahrenheit 451. Does this organisation really think that it will get away with it?
The answer is it does, and it will. I have a few questions and observations for the RIAA that I believe can shed some light on the situation for them on why exactly this is the dumbest idea since the advent of the Flowbee.
I truly don't believe that the RIAA understands that it could dethrone Al Qaeda as public enemy #1.
Scenario 1
RIAA hackers enter a computer on a P2P network and wipe the MP3 files off the PC, but willingly or unwillingly release a virus and/or Trojan horse that leads to problems or system failure. Can the RIAA deal with the multitude of class action lawsuits that will follow these actions?
Scenario 2
Let's say an unscrupulous user sets up their system to fail if an intrusion is detected from an RIAA related IP, then sues the RIAA for damage. Can they handle the onslaught of similar charges?
How is the RIAA going to stop private FTPs, email, and newsgroups from swapping MP3s? The reality is that the RIAA can't. In the end, this joke of an attempt to attack computers on the net will end up slowing the net down because the only true weapon the RIAA has is ISP intimidation. I have some advice for the RIAA that could help it little.
The RIAA should adopt an action plan that is PR based and consumer friendly. The RIAA obviously has no understanding of PR and how to get its point across to the public. It should attempt to paint a picture for the public that harks back to the image of the Allies landing on Normandy, while right now it comes off looking like the Gestapo. The RIAA needs to direct a promotional campaign to the general public that both informs and educates the virtues of why P2P networks represent a fundamental breakdown in the process that brought them the music to listen to in the first place. The RIAA should also push recording companies to have download services that are pay-as-you-play. In other words you pay, let's say, 50 cents for a song and it's yours to download.
Currently the RIAA has a major image problem. It represents billion dollar recording companies and several dozen multimillion dollar recording artists. This position will not garnish any public sympathy from anyone; imagine the girl next door thinking "poorL XYZ Recording Company Executive can't buy a new Porsche because I'm trading 100 Gigs worth of MP3s on-line; screw them!" The RIAA needs to build an image that they are the representatives of small struggling artists that need the revenue from CD sales, which is in fact true.
The protection of intellectual property is a fundamental part of the foundation of our beloved "Laissez Faire" economy and if we don't defend it then the RIAA will screw with our PCs and slow the internet in the process! µ
