Slashdot Mirror
AACS Vows to Fight Bloggers
Jonas Wisser writes "The BBC is carrying the story that AACS has promised to take action against those who have posted the AACS crack online. Michael Ayers, chairperson of AACS, noted that the cracked key has now been revoked, and went on to say, 'Some people clearly think it's a First Amendment issue. There is no intent from us to interfere with people's right to discuss copy protection. We respect free speech.' The AACS website tells consumers how they can 'continue to enjoy content protected by AACS' by 'refreshing the encryption keys associated with their HD DVD and Blu-ray software players.'"
As a semi-pro photographer, I do see the value in protecting one's IP (Intellectual Property, not Internet Protocol, in case any were confused). The images, media, whatever, are the keys to the bank. My clients frequently want me to give them the digital files, as if they're "free," when, if I do that, I make $0 on prints, which is where much of the money is to be made in photography (in the present biz model).
Analogizing to HD-DVD (or whatever digital media there is), the companies who produce such media have the right to protect their content. The rub lies in them protecting their content without interfering with our fair use. That's a really hard thing to implement/enforce. I don't really have any ideas on how it should be done, but I'm simply emphasizing that they have created the content, and thus, they have a LEGAL right to protect it. Just because it's in a digital format, that doesn't mean it's now free (either as in "free beer" or "free speech"). The content still belongs to the original creators, though one owns a copy.
The folks bitching about "free speech" and publishing encryption keys are way off, IMHO. If I had watermarked thumbnail images on my website, and full res images accessible by password, then someone cracked that password and published on the web, I'd be upset. They have stolen the keys to the bank, then made copies of the keys for anyone to find. It's stealing, immoral, etc. There's nothing admirable about stealing and aiding and abetting others to as well. I know it's in our nature to want to get around the system (esp. as geeks), but it just ain't right.
That image is being sent without a Content-Type HTTP header. It's people like you that hold the web back.