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June 19, 2003

Mouthpiece

A while back, I blogged about the RIAA’s support of efforts to develop Trojan Horses, DoS Attacks and other nasties with which to attack P2P file-sharers. I speculated that we would eventually see a renewed effort to pass a “Berman II” bill, exempting them from anti-hacking laws.

Some scoffed, but a little over a month later, the RIAA seems to have enlisted the support of no less than the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

During a hearing that Hatch convened Tuesday on the “national security risks” of P2P networks, he asked a witness, “Can you destroy their set in their home?” referring to a home PC.

Randy Saaf of MediaDefender, a secretive Los Angeles company that works with the recording industry to disrupt P2P networks, replied by saying “nobody” is interested in that approach.

“I’m interested in doing that. That may be the only way you can teach someone about copyright…That would be the ultimate way of making sure” no more copyright is infringed.

Hatch suggested that Congress would have to amend laws restricting computer intrusions. “If it’s the only way you can do it,” Hatch said, “then I’m all for destroying their machines…but you’d have to pass legislation permitting that, it seems to me, before someone could really do that with any degree of assurance that they’re doing something that might be proper.”

I guess nobody’s laughing now …

Posted by distler at June 19, 2003 10:05 AM

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