Slashdot Mirror
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.
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