Slashdot Mirror
DMCA-Alikes Sweep Europe
D4C5CE continues:
"Earlier implementations have been reported from Austria, Denmark, Greece and Italy.
Legal scholars consider the directive itself an invalid "monstrosity", and the German law unconstitutional. In fact, this legislation is viewed as so terribly awful that even from the U.S., the EFF tried to prevent it in a rare intervention overseas.
Declaring that the circumvention rather than the use of Copy Protection is a Crime, the German parliament threatens to make things even worse by adopting a "second stage" with further steps to impose DRM and additional levies later this year, but unsurprisingly, all of the issues that DMCA-style laws have become notorious for are already there: Overbreadth, overprotection of technical measures, and Chilling Effects aplenty.
Record companies eagerly awaiting this "lex Bertelsmann" have already caused ISPs to send out warning letters to P2P users for alleged copyright infringement, and are expected to take legal action against individual users of file-sharing networks, following in the footsteps of RIAA.
Confirming the fears expressed by Alan Cox on Slashdot, computer gurus will soon find no place left to go even on the European side of the pond, and the Free-X "Independence Day" XBox exploit posted by one brave German just in time before this dismal day may well have been one of the very last legal disclosures in this part of the world as well."
The number of European countries enacting their ignorance..
No, it is not ignorance, it is Corporate Control. And don't fool yourself, both left and right alike are controlled by corporations, in almost every country.
Does this really surprise anyone? Most people don't care about the issues in general, much less this one. Those who do care, and try to be vocal about it are simply paid no attention to by our governments, no matter what the nationality. We're slowly losing the ability to control what we do with our technology, our knowledge, and our lives. I keep waiting for something to give, for that final straw where more than just a few of us stand up and say 'No More!' but it hasn't happened. I fear it won't happen in my life time.
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
Between 21% and 40% for the majority of the population. Maybe not insanely low, but not insanely high.
communist health care
The right to free health care is a bad thing?
no right to bear arms
"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed"
This is not necessarily the right to private ownership of arms - it can be argued this is the right for the state to have an armed militia (normally called an Army!). Not everyone views gun ownership as a good thing anyway.
forced conscription
National Service dropped in 1962 I believe.
unbelievable regulation of motor vehicles and communications
I am informed by friends in California that vehicles over here would be regulated off the roads there. Communications is as open as in the US.
rampant trade protectionism
No more and no less than in the US. That's why there are regular "trade wars" between US and European industries - you protect yours, we protect ours...
and now europe's getting its own DMCA
Sadly it looks like this may be the case. But guess which nation much of the lobbying is coming from.