-Caveat Lector- National Security and Individual Freedoms: How the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) Threatens Both Full article here: http://www.infowarrior.org/articles/2001-05.html Selected pull quotes: "Creating, modifying, and interpreting US law - particularly the Constitution - seems to be a new pastime of corporations. The power and freedom, it seems, has moved from the halls of Congress to the boardrooms and executive suites of corporations and industry cartels to determine what constitutes 'free speech' (parody, satire, or academic research) as mandated in the US Constitution. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the US government is currently choosing to emulate the Roman Emperor Nero, fiddling on the sidelines while the constitutional protections of its citizens are burned by the interests of California-based corporate Visigoths. Many consumers do not know that DMCA enables a company to shut down any website in the world simply by invoking the DMCA. Forget about a court order and US Marshals showing up to seize property, a letter from any corporate lawyer mentioning DMCA is enough. The law is carefully crafted to protect ISP and web hosting sites from any responsibility in a DMCA matter provided they "pull the plug" on their customer's site that is allegedly violating DMCA. Should the ISP or web host chose not to shut the site down, it's treated as an accessory to the transgressing site, and subject to criminal and civil punishment. Naturally, most website hosts will shut a site down to save their own hides. We see this all the time, from the MPAA threatening Cryptome.Org with posting public court records in the 2600 Magazine case to Adobe threatening ElcomSoft's ISP when it discovered Dmitry's product for sale. DMCA has created an expanded set of de facto "Copyright Cops" - corporate attornies and marketing weenies - who are most certainly not sworn law enforcement officers...but think they are! --- "The individual - people and consumers - are at the mercy of the unelected interests of the corporation and its attendant cartels. It's time for people to realize that continued blind acceptance of the latest and greatest technology and services offered by the corporations and accepting them as the de facto leaders of the information world comes at a very high price...individuality and your freedom to think and chose your own destiny, interests, and pursuits. Under DMCA, both individual freedoms and national security are threatened by the interests of wealthy corporations. In the Western world, information cannot simply be litigated or regulated into oblivion. A military may classify military secrets, but anyone with a clue and appropriate background can probably piece together much of it through common sense and diligent research. Corporations are in the same boat. There will always be the revolutionary that will question and challenge the status quo....what could be construed as the out-of-the-box thinker or the "hacker mindset." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
