Researchers Want Right to Bypass Protected Spyware

Dotnaught writes "Computer security researchers Professor Edward Felten and Alex Halderman have asked the U.S. Copyright Office for an exemption (pdf) to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) so that they can circumvent copy protection technology used to protect spyware. The DMCA currently makes it illegal to bypass digital locks almost regardless of what they protect or the user's intent. As noted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Copyright Office theoretically grants exemptions, but in reality discourages anyone from asking. What's significant about the application submitted by Felten and Halderman is that they knew about the dangers posed by Sony's XCP DRM software a month before the news became public. But they delayed publication for fear of prosecution. During that time, many more consumers fell victim to the spyware propagated by Sony."

Comments

Re:Not so fast

[six]

The DCMA, the US's favorite export.

Actually the DMCA as well as its EUCD european counterpart are both implementations of the TRIPS international treaty which was brought to us by our loved and highly democratic World Trade Organization.

It also seems that EUCD is yet more restrictive than DMCA, actually the french implementation of EUCD, if adopted by the parliament at the end of the month, will simply make it illegal to publish free software .

It's more than time for all this nonsense to stop.

Re:It's Really Sad That...

[sgb235]

So why shouldn't there be a CTO? It's unreasonable to expect that all Congresscritters can be knowledgeable techies. They should have a non partisan agency to advise them about these issues -- then perhaps stuff like this wouldn't be overlooked.

There was. It was called the Office of Technology Assessment. It was shut down in 1995 after the Republicans' success in the 1994 elections.

There was one. It was disbanded.

[Hobart]

why isn't there a CTO (Congressional Technology Office)? There's ... a non partisan office that exists to advise Congress on budgetary issues ... It's unreasonable to expect that all Congresscritters can be knowledgeable techies. They should have a non partisan agency to advise them about these issues

I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, there was such an agency.

The Office of Technology Assessment was such a congressional body, founded in 1972, and it lasted until 1995, when the Gingrich Congress came in, it was disbanded.

More about that here, here, here, and of course on Google.

--
Slashcode bug # 497457 - unfixed since December 2001 - Go look it up!

Re:It's Really Sad That...

[Brad Lucier]

So why shouldn't there be a CTO? ... Congresscritters ... should have a non partisan agency to advise them about these issues

They do. It's called the Congressional Research Service, and it's part of the Library of Congress. Their job is to write reports on issues that are of concern to members of congress. Reports are confidential unless and until a representative or senator decides to release them.

While the CRS doesn't seem to have a web site, many other sites contain lists of reports that are available to the public.

Re:what tools!

[moonbender]

Sounds like the defence used in the Nurenburg trials.

Wow, Godwin's Law in the FP. You lose!