Re: [Full-disclosure] when did piracy/theft become expression of freedom

[Christian Sciberras <uuf6429@xxxxxxxxx>]

Byron, you don't protest to the government by burning down 100-year-old
business, if you know what I mean...





On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 12:12 AM, Byron L. Sonne <byron.sonne@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> The thing that makes me laugh about all of this, and one of the key
> things I learned from reading Gibbon's Decline & Fall is this:
>
> The number and frequency of laws passed regarding things directly
> relates to how widespread these things are, and how they much the laws
> are ignored and ineffective. Laws can't prevent a damn thing, they can
> only specify remedies. As it is said, "it's only illegal if you get
> caught".
>
> The cat is out of the bag and will never be put back in. There's no way
> to stop people from 'illegally' copying copyrighted material.
>
> If they somehow managed to require and implement tech so that perfect
> digital copies can't be made (unlikely) then people will simply use a
> camera to record the video as it plays on the screen. Hey, wait a
> minute, that sounds just like that screener I downloaded someone taped
> in Russia! ;)
>
> If they manage to require and implement tech so that you can't trade it
> over the internet (unlikely) then people will simply trade it on private
> networks or, like we used to do in the old days, via sneakernet.
>
> The problem is that in an attempt to control the dissemination of
> copyrighted material (and people are right, artists do have a right to
> reap the benefits of their effort) the powers-that-be are stepping over
> the line and into territory that impacts our ability to communicate in
> the fashion we choose.
>
> It might be fine to try and prevent piracy but in the process of doing
> so you are trashing the other desires of people that have nothing to do
> with piracy.
>
> I'm sure if the copyright lobby had their way, they'd require us to wear
> special glasses in order to see our laptop screens, on the assumption
> that anything not explicitly licensed was assumed to be unlicensed, and
> thus pirated, which we would be blocked from our field of view... and as
> a result, some girl/guy who wants to write a simple freeware text editor
> now has to jump through regulatory hoops and spend money to obtain a
> special registration that allows their text editor to display to the
> screen. This is a cheesy example, but I think it makes the point.
>
> In the guise of 'protecting artists and businesses' what is happening is
> that the powers-that-be are requesting (and too often getting) powers
> that allow them to trample on the general idea of freedom of
> communications and other things people cherish.
>
> As a result, people are inclined to engage in the very behaviours that
> elicited the laws and crackdowns, quite simply, as a way to raise their
> middle finger and say "Fuck You".
>
> This is when piracy and theft becomes freedom of expression - when it's
> done in protest.
>
> --
> http://www.freebyron.org
>
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Full-Disclosure - We believe in it.
Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html
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