UCITA By the Back Door

InfoWorld's Gripelog airs a subject that should interest this community — involved as we were with efforts against UCITA back in the day. One main aim of the derailed UCITA initiative was to give software manufacturers and content owners a degree of control over users' computers. Gripelog's Ed Foster informs us that UCITA is sneaking back in, under the cover of an anti-spyware bill, S. 1625, now making its way through the US Senate. One clause in this draft bill would legalize what the BSA calls "electronic self help" — i.e., the ability for commercial entities to cripple or disable software or networks on your computer if they believe you are violating their property rights.

Comments

contempt

[nuzak]

By writing themselves into the law as "above the law", I no longer feel particularly feel any moral obligation to obey the law. The only principle that guides my behavior now when it comes to dealing with the RIAA/MPAA is "don't get caught".

Congratulations, you people just created another pirate.

Re:contempt

[TheGratefulNet]

Congratulations, you people just created another pirate.

I keep saying that - its a self-fulfilling prophecy.

the more unjust laws that lobbyists create, the more anger and disillusionment the customer (!) base will become.

they have created more pissed-off customers than they realize. so any laws just become ignored by those in the current generation.

I wonder where this will end? where will it extrapolate to? will the media industry ever 'get it'? this is an arms race and its not heading toward any kind of stability and in fact its heading quite out of control.

our politicians are creating favorable laws for themselves and their lobbyist contributors. big business is having a cream-fest with all the new laws that have been passed in the last several years, to their benefit and to the detriment of the consumer.

I encourage people to decide for themselves if they should follow UNJUST LAWS or not. for a long time, slavery was allowed and perfectly legal and laws supported it. it was bad to follow such laws back then and similarly, when you find bad laws its your patriotic duty to ignore them.

we can't seem to change the laws - the power base is not ours. so, what we have left is to nullify the laws by challenging them and refusing to follow them.

LONG LIVE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.

Re:According to this bill

[Cathoderoytube]

Just curious. Would this mean that software companies would have to make different versions of their software for the Canadian market? Since the bill only applies to the spying on and infringing of the rights of Americans. I would assume that these sorts shenanigans would be fairly illegal here in Canada because of our privacy laws.

If worse comes to worse you could start buying your software from Canada, or it might be as easy as ticking Canada as your country during the installation process...