Could Hollywood hack your PC? (...copyright holders to disable PCs used for illicit file trading.)

CNET News.com ^ | July 23, 2002, 4:45 PM PT | By Declan McCullagh

[InvisibleChurch]

Could Hollywood hack your PC? By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com July 23, 2002, 4:45 PM PT http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html

WASHINGTON--Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for illicit file trading. A draft bill seen by CNET News.com marks the boldest political effort to date by record labels and movie studios to disrupt peer-to-peer networks that they view as an increasingly dire threat to their bottom line.

Sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., the measure would permit copyright holders to perform nearly unchecked electronic hacking if they have a "reasonable basis" to believe that piracy is taking place. Berman and Coble plan to introduce the 10-page bill this week.

The legislation would immunize groups such as the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America from all state and federal laws if they disable, block or otherwise impair a "publicly accessible peer-to-peer network."

Anyone whose computer was damaged in the process must receive the permission of the U.S. attorney general before filing a lawsuit, and a suit could be filed only if the actual monetary loss was more than $250.

According to the draft, the attorney general must be given complete details about the "specific technologies the copyright holder intends to use to impair" the normal operation of the peer-to-peer network. Those details would remain secret and would not be divulged to the public.

The draft bill doesn't specify what techniques, such as viruses, worms, denial-of-service attacks, or domain name hijacking, would be permissible. It does say that a copyright-hacker should not delete files, but it limits the right of anyone subject to an intrusion to sue if files are accidentally erased.

Because Congress only has about five work weeks left before it is scheduled to adjourn for the year, the outlook for the draft bill is uncertain.

But because its sponsors include top Republican and Democratic committee chairmen, it could receive a warm welcome in the House of Representatives at a hearing tentatively scheduled for this fall. Coble is the chairman of the House subcommittee on intellectual property, and Berman is the top Democrat on the panel.

Berman wrote in an opinion article this month that "currently, copyright owners are unable to use some useful technological tools to deal with P2P piracy because they face potential, if unintended, liability under a variety of state and federal laws."

"It's a good bill," Gene Smith, a spokeswoman for Berman, said on Monday. "It's always hard to defend theft and piracy--this bill just puts into the hands of the copyright owners technologies that are already being used by the pirates."

Smith said the purpose of the draft bill was to "fight fire with fire, fight technology with technology."

Jessica Litman, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in copyright law, said the draft bill improperly encourages "vigilante justice."

"I think it's wildly overreaching," Litman said. "Copyright owners are in essence asking Congress to say that peer-to-peer file trading is such a scorch, is so bad, that stopping it is more important than enforcing any other laws that federal or state governments may have passed on computer security, privacy, fraud and so forth."

Litman said that even if a copyright holder accidentally deleted a home video titled "Snow White," the owner of that PC could be out of luck. "Unless I can show economic harm, I can't even be compensated," Litman said. "Even if I want to be compensated, I have to jump through procedural hoops."

The film and music industries already are developing tools to use against rogue file swapping, though they've remained mum on the details. The RIAA says its members have the right to use any "lawful and appropriate self-help measure."

Fritz Attaway, the MPAA's senior vice president for government relations, endorsed Berman's approach on Monday, stressing that law-abiding Internet users should not be concerned.

"No one in the motion picture industry has any interest in invading your computer or doing anything malicious with your files," Attaway said. "The idea is to make unauthorized file sharing sufficiently inconvenient or at least unsuccessful."

The MPAA and RIAA did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned the draft bill as a sop to Hollywood and the recording industry.

Digital lockdown? "This is part of a greater strategy that's being implemented by the entertainment industry to lock up and control digital information in general," said Robin Gross, an EFF staff attorney. "The rights that we've enjoyed in the analog space are now being taken away from us because we're entering a digital realm"

Gross said she was concerned by the broad grant of immunity to copyright holders who become computer intruders. "When they screw up, they don't want you to be able to get some sort of retribution from them," she said.

Other sponsors listed on the draft bill include key legislators such as Reps. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the full Judiciary committee, Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the chairman of a crime subcommittee, and Robert Wexler, D-Fla. Currently there is no companion legislation in the Senate.

The next step for the draft bill is the House Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property. A representative for Coble said earlier this month to expect a hearing starting in September, when Congress returns from its August recess.

Berman announced plans for the legislation during a speech to a Washington trade association last month. He represents California's San Fernando Valley, adjacent to Los Angeles and Hollywood's cluster of entertainment companies.

Coble and Berman have jointly written a second draft bill that could sharply limit Americans' rights relating to copying music, taping TV shows, or transferring files through the Internet. But they have said they do not necessarily endorse the plan's details.

[InvisibleChurch]

Inri

[apochromat]

What's with such petty vigilante vandalism? Can't they just send a lynch mob?

[apochromat]

(/sarcasm)

[apochromat]

What I'm really worried about is that if the industry can't get all of the royalties it has earned, it won't be able to continue providing us with the 96% corrosive dreck currently saturating the media.

[saltlick]

Would the record companies be subject to this: House OKs life sentences for hackers ?

[Dominic Harr]

In Bump We Trust.

[sheik yerbouty]

"The Lavender Hill Gang"

[Newbomb Turk]

If you download music you might want to check your computer for a file named song spy. you may already be sending your usage patterns to the big record companys.

[TechJunkYard]

"It's a good bill," Gene Smith, a spokeswoman for Berman, said on Monday. "It's always hard to defend theft and piracy--this bill just puts into the hands of the copyright owners technologies that are already being used by the pirates."
Smith said the purpose of the draft bill was to "fight fire with fire, fight technology with technology."
Jessica Litman, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in copyright law, said the draft bill improperly encourages "vigilante justice."

The media congloms had better shore up their own firewalls and security procedures... this sort of thing could inspire a hacker war against them, and they are hopelessly outnumbered.

[FatherTorque]

The media congloms had better shore up their own firewalls and security procedures... this sort of thing could inspire a hacker war against them, and they are hopelessly outnumbered.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think they want to get into a digital "arms race" with the hackers because they would lose very badly. If the hacker community gets together on this the fallout will be very bad.

[newgeezer]

Sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., ...

This guy got a 92/100 (excellent) rating from the American Conservative Union for his 2001 voting record (90/100 lifetime). How does he put his name on something as invasive as this?

...if they have a "reasonable basis" to believe that piracy is taking place...

Well, here we have one possible explanation:
Prev. Occupation: Attorney

Or, maybe he understands more about moonshiners and Prohibition than them thar newfangled computers.

(BTTT)

[white trash redneck]

Looks like they do believe in limits to the First Amendment. But only when it suit them.

[flamefront]

Some links omitted from the article:

Declan McCullagh Address=mailto:declan.mccullagh@cnet.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html Address=http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html?tag=prntfr
Howard Berman Address=http://www.house.gov/berman/
Howard Coble Address=http://www.house.gov/coble/
Motion Picture Association of America Address=http://www.mpaa.org/
Recording Industry Association of America Address=http://www.riaa.org/
subcommittee on intellectual property Address=http://www.house.gov/judiciary/courts.htm
opinion article Address=http://news.com.com/2010-1078-942325.html
Jessica Litman Address=http://www.law.wayne.edu/litman/
says Address=http://news.com.com/2100-1023-943883.html
endorsed Address=http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945691.html
Electronic Frontier Foundation Address=http://www.eff.org/
John Conyers Address=http://www.house.gov/conyers/
Lamar Smith Address=http://lamarsmith.house.gov/
Robert Wexler Address=http://www.wexler.house.gov/
said Address=http://news.com.com/2010-1074-941928.html
announced Address=http://www.house.gov/berman/p2p062502.html
jointly written Address=http://news.com.com/2100-1023-943134.html
Front Door Address=http://news.com.com/2001-12-0.html?tag=prntfr
Entertainment & Media Address=http://news.com.com/2001-1023-0.html?tag=prntfr
Search Address=http://news.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.search.com%2Fsearch&edId=3&siteId=3&oId=2102-1023-945923&ontId=1023&lop=prntfr
One Week View Address=http://news.com.com/2003-12-945923.html?tag=prntfr

[Viva Le Dissention]

I think what these far-sighted folks have failed to realize is that the real "damage" comes not from people with ordinary dial-up connections, but from "fat pipes," or those people that have access to high bandwidth downloads. While more and more people are getting access to cable modems and T1 connections at home, most of these connections are on public computers, be they at libraries or universities or whatever. The universities are the ones that do the most damage because the students are the most computer-literate generation; that's why Aerosmith sued, among others, Indiana University for copyright violations that started off this whole Napster deal.

Anyhow, I said all that to say that let's say when a student goes to a computer cluster on campus and downloads a movie, a song, or some software, the movie companies pick this up and disable the computer, there are going to be some very unhappy administrators.

This bill will likely die a quiet death in committee someplace.

[StockAyatollah]

I couldn't care less what happens to the entertainment industry with all the marxist nonsense and just plain crap they push. But this is going to get interesting. There will no doubt be countermeasures by the file-sharing systems and counter-countermeasures to follow from the RIAA. Hackers will work as agents and double-agents for both.

[doc30]

"It's a good bill," Gene Smith, a spokeswoman for Berman, said on Monday. "It's always hard to defend theft and piracy--this bill just puts into the hands of the copyright owners technologies that are already being used by the pirates."

Beware the law of unintended consequences. If such a law protects copyright owners when they "hack" into computers looking for pirated material from being held liable for damages if they screw something up, then this would be a great incentive for hackers to become copyright holders. THey they could hack the h*ll out of the recording industry (or anyone else) under the excuse that they were looking to see if any of their work was pirated. It would be great protection for malicious hackers!

[TechJunkYard]

RIAA Web site disabled by attack
Looks like it's already starting...

[TechJunkYard]

[Political Junkie Too]

Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for illicit file trading.

This has GOT to be illegal.

Congress is endorsing vigilantism? They are passing the law enforcement responsibility onto copyright holders? What about Fourth Amendment protections within the privacy of my home? Sony will be able to disable my PC?

-PJ

[FatherTorque]

This has GOT to be illegal. Congress is endorsing vigilantism? They are passing the law enforcement responsibility onto copyright holders? What about Fourth Amendment protections within the privacy of my home? Sony will be able to disable my PC?

Congress endorses anything that has a big enough check attached to it. They (Democrats & Republicans) could give a hoot about whether it is legal or not, or if it violates the constitution or not. They are all political whores who sell themselves and us to the highest bidder.