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DeCSS Censored From University Linux Course
gbnewby writes: "Prof. Greg Newby of UNC-Chapel Hill has been forced to remove the DeCSS files from his course materials. This resulted from a March 17 MPAA complaint. Newby has a
press release
and
essay online. The class was INLS183, in which Linux/Unix systems administration, software installation and security are taught."
Nothing really shocking here, but the essay is worth reading.
The shocking thing about this is not that the MPAA is trying to scare people out of their right to free speech - we've come to expect that out of them. I got the same letter and I removed the DeCSS code from my website because I really can't afford to get entangled in a lawsuit over it. What really amazes me is that the university ordered Dr. Newby to remove the files. This shows that universities really do care more about corporate interests than free speech and the autonomy of their professors.
I wrote a bunch of friends/family about my concerns about this (and UCITA). I guess I serve as a self-appointed "tech watchdog" of sorts. (Most people are ignorant of what's going on in areas they don't have direct daily contact with.)
I only got one response, from a childhood friend who is now a librarian. Basically she said I was off my rocker for thinking the Linux hackers were anything but thieves for trying to get at stuff that "they weren't supposed to." Since she'd studied fair use in her classes, obviously she was right. [sarcasm]
It just helped to show me how brainwashed some people are without realizing it. "If gov't passes a law, breaking that law makes you bad/wrong...right???" Society is too trusting of gov't to work for their best interest. Never give up basic liberties for the sake of increased safety or convenience. They can't guarantee it, and if they do they're lying. Life is tough. Deal with it. Hang on to the freedoms you have.
Whoa, I guess I got a little off-topic there. I suppose I see this issue as just a symptom of a larger problem.
Constitutionally Correct
... the professor had the balls to try.
Pair up in threes. - Yogi Berra
Well, the police here in Norway were fooled. The MPAA seem to have told them that this guy made a program that allowed DVDs to be copied en masse on your home computer, and also that he distributed DVDs. None of this is true, so the Økokrim (Economical / Enviromental crimes division) of the Norwegian police are a bit embarrased....
http://cubicmetercrystal.com/decss
Exercise your freedom
The local NandO published this article about my experiences.
I was surprised the journalist actually talked to the MPAA!
...section 1201 detail what constitutes fair use... ...saying that any sort of technological
access protection...removes the right to access the material except as specified by the copyright holder.
so, say I publish a hardcover book, which has a locking hasp ( like your sister's diary ), and I say in my licence, unlocking the hasp with any key other than the one that I sell you, is illegal and subject to DMCA provisions.
other than the specific implementation of the "technological measure" and the data storage device, there is no difference between this situation and the DVD situation.
the problem these days is that all Big Business has to do is yell "HACKER!" (which in the eyes of lawmakers is synonymous with thief, sexual deviant, all around bad person) and congress passes a law protecting the poor defenseless businessman from all those big bad 16 year olds with 28.8 modems.
sombody get the ACLU on the horn.
The difference between Theory and Practice is greater in Practice than in Theory.
Nothing really shocking here, but the essay is worth reading.
"Nothing really shocking here"?!? Jeez, have we really become so numbed to the idiocy that passes for "the other side"'s case that even a clear-cut case of censorship won't turn our heads?
It's one thing to, oh, say, barge in and arrest some smart teenage kid in Scandanavia who did something that's perfectly legal where he lives, even if it's iffy in the US. Or even to, y'know, try to prevent people from using their own legally-purchased DVD players just because they use a slightly unusual operating system on their computers. Oooh, or then there's the part about going after anyone who links to some source code, which was actually derived because of the incompetence of some previous contractors. Yeah, that'll be fun.
Hey, and maybe while they're at it, all the TV's in Australia should be confiscated when the Australian chapter of 2600 does its upcoming broadcast. Wouldn't want people learning, now would we?
- Asparagirl, fuming
- Asparagirl
asparagirl at dca dot net