INDUCE comes to Caleefoahnia
Both Boing Boing and Slashdot reported on California Senate Bill (SB) 96, which would punish any person who
sells, offers for sale, advertises, distributes, disseminates, provides, or otherwise makes available peer-to-peer file sharing software that enables its user to electronically disseminate commercial recordings or audiovisual works via the Internet or any other digital network, and who fails to exercise reasonable care in preventing use of that software to commit an unlawful act with respect to a commercial recording or audiovisual work[.]
The phrase "reasonable care," says Jason Schultz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is dangerously ambiguous:
"Reasonable care" could mean anything from the forced design and/or redesign of software to mandated filtering and digital rights management (DRM) -- even the forced installation of spyware to monitor user behavior. Moreover, SB 96 would effectively overrule the Betamax protections that the Supreme Court has provided technology companies for more than 20 years. That kind of seismic shift would destabilize some of California's most successful companies.
Of course, any state law that conflicts with a Supreme Court ruling is null, since the Supreme Court's interpretation of the law trumps state laws. Still, the phrase "reasonable care" means that a corporation designing a product will err on the side of too much restriction, rather than be complicit in copyright violations. This is the same thing going on in network television, where broadcasters err on the side of too much censorship rather than face the wrath of an irrational FCC controlled by the Parents Television Council.
The problem with this law is that the Internet is designed to disseminate information. As Cory Doctrow notes, "This, of course, includes email, IM, Web-browsers, and every other tool for exchanging data on the Internet. Nice one, Kevin! Maybe once you've passed this one, you can introduce a bill to make Pi equal to 3 and then execute everyone who insists otherwise." Doctrow alludes here to an old urban legend which claims that an Alabama state law changed the value of pi to 3 in order to agree with the Bible. The point is nevertheless well-taken: attempting to constrain the Internet to fit the form of older types of communication is a ridiculous notion which will send science back to the stone age. And even then, AOL TimeWarner will demand seven cents for every communication sent by throwing rocks, since they hold a patent on rock-throwing technology.
Comments
i think you've missed the most important point, which is simply that these laws, however terrible, allow us a certain degree of social and historical salvation by forcing us to become rebels of sorts. we can be the outlaws of the technological frontier. instead of robbing banks and trains, we'll simply find a good music hub and rebel away. and we won't get shot on a train. or die of naughty wench disease. or yellow fever.
Posted by: matt | January 19, 2005 11:33 AM
I don't know about you, but I've always wanted to participate in a heist. Capers that involve lasers, priceless gems, tranquilizer loaded guard dog treats, etc. sound like a rollicking good time. Hell, naughty wench disease might not be so bad either, provided the wench was reasonably priced.
Posted by: Scott | January 19, 2005 2:23 PM
What if we had a peer to peer wench-disease swapping heist which somehow involved diamonds that ran on lasers (like in Congo). Surely that business would make millions! Ha ha! Mark, does it ever disappoint you that you attempt to make serious points, and all your friends then proceed to come up with nonsensical rantings based loosely (or in the case of cathy) nothing at all on what you just said? Quick, load the diamond fired lasers onto the front of the wench-disease swapper 5000!
Posted by: Wolf | January 19, 2005 9:10 PM
Brian I think you were just insulting me. But the dynamite in your chimney will make feel better. I would probably feel even more better if I had lit the dynamite. DANG!!
Mark, I think the fact that you are oblivious to in this case is the blatant attempt of the . . . HAHA you thought I was going to say something smart! I'll never be smart, I'll always be a fool! A fool like a fox! But with less sharp teeth!
Posted by: Bud-dy | January 19, 2005 11:27 PM
Oh no you won't! I've seen those teeth. They're most certainly fox-sharp. I've got the scars to prove it. I guess in fairness I should have seen that you were on your nest. The dynamite in my chimney? Surely you know, my home has no chimney. Apparently after all that time I spent in England you assumed I had transformed into one of those little chimney sweep or shoe shine slaves they have, dancing around on rooftops. It's a very safe occupation, but it wasn't for me. Teacher said I was sweeping chimneys at a second grade level.
Posted by: Wolf | January 21, 2005 6:42 PM