House IP Leader Endorses P2P Blocking 178
Technical Writing Geek points out an Ars Technica report on comments from Representative Howard Coble (R-NC), who sits on the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. In a recent editorial, Coble attempts to discourage P2P file sharing among young people, and praises Ohio University for its ban on P2P applications last year. Coble also suggests that identity theft is a great danger from file sharing. Public Knowledge is running a similar analysis, which argues against the main points from the editorial.
ID Theft? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Insightful)
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All the copyright holders can do is cross their fingers and hope all this "piracy" gets income from other means or over time.
I look forward to Gene Simmons suing some "freckly-faced college kid" [brooklynvegan.com] for downloading his music and making it a spectacle on his show. The outcome would probably be the "college kid" wearing all his KISS gear showing up to court, wondering what's wrong with Gene.
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Email is a waste of time, agreed. It's not even considered by politicians, but letters, you know, on paper, in envelopes, signed and posted with stamps? That's a different story. For whatever reason, they are taken seriously. I think the 'metric' is:
1 Letter = 2k implied similar viewpoints
Why? Don't ask me. I think it has something to do with time, effort, and the general lethargy of the gripers, as a rule... hence a 'rule', of sorts.
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I cant find a real difference in any of the politicians. Sure, they talk differently to appeal to different groups but the end result is the same.
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I'm from Australia where they are always full and voting makes a difference.
Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Insightful)
The media doesn't spread the news because they are owned by the same corporations that "contribute" heavily to both "mainstream candidates" (IE, both the Republican and Democrat wings of the Republicrat Party) in every major race.
When Nader was running as a "third party" (Green) candidate, he wasn't on the ballot in enough states to gain the Presidency even if he won every state he ran in, and the media slobbered all over him. The Libertarians were on the ballot in 49 states, yet the media said nary a word about him.
Your corporate overlords, most of whom are foreign (Sony, BP, Shell, etc) aren't about to let go of their power. We, the People, lost and lost big a long time ago.
That said, I still vote, but split my vote between "third party" candidates. Because voting for a candidate that will vote against your interests is worse than wasting a vote, it's just plain stupid. People don't stay away from the polls because they're apathetic, they stay away because they know they have no real voice. Both candidates against legalizing something you love? Why vote?
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No! That simply can't be it. It's apathy! Bad voter! BAD! There is absolutely no way it's due to having appalling choices or ones that are so similar to each other that they're effectively interchangeable. It also has nothing to do with an endless cycle of "whomever gets voted in winds up screwing the people" or politic
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Quite frankly, I never found voting to be all that essential to the process.
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Well, at least the kiddie-porn people would be stopped if there was no file sharing... right?
Well, at least Ms Spears would be able to pay her medical bills if there were no file sharing... there, we can all rest happy now.
WTF? This is just an attempt to make it seem ok to filter some things. Slowly but surely they will work on filtering everything for us so we won't have to worry about criminals - except thos
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Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Funny)
"Think of the children" is the Congressional equivalent of the Jedi Mind Trick; "these are not the droids you're looking for." Upon further consideration, he may have substituted "Identity Theft" instead of "terrorists" since he's talking about the Interweb. I applaud his restraint in not using any analogy to tubes. This is progress.
Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Interesting)
Then have more fun. Right click on one, browse host.
Watch in amazement as you now have access to their pictures, word documents, cookies, anything you might find interesting. All because they're too stupid to properly define the Sharing folders when they started using Limewire.
An ID theft's wet dream, all thanks to P2P.
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That would imply that you're smarter than the average P2P'er, and probably don't have your entire user folder (or disk!) shared to the world.
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That would imply that you're smarter than the average P2P'er, and probably don't have your entire user folder (or disk!) shared to the world.
Re:ID Theft? (Score:5, Informative)
Most of these people have some sort of P2P client installed such as Limewire.
Windows should warn you if you have your entire C: drive shared read/write to guest and open through the firewall. In fact, I think they should remove that capability all together. Guest never should have full read/write access to c:\.
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Given that the network is the future of computing, then it will be up to the governments and software writers to secure the vulnerable parts, as the users have consistently shown in every relevant area, that they are largely incompetent when it comes to self preservation. See seatbelts, hard wired ac plugs, "May contain nuts", hot coffee, etc etc.
I smell an opportunity ! (Score:2)
"Member of Cuban government 1970-2005. Speaking of which, due to the recent health problems of our beloved leader, Fidel Castro, I wish to move some of my personal assets out of the country as insurance against any political instability that might arise. To do this I require a bank account out of country to receive this money. If you ha
Re:ID Theft? (Score:4, Informative)
'cos the idiot users don't realize they are sharing their entire disk.
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Did you know that if you share a folder in Limewire, it's automatically shared across your LAN?
Come to think of it, what am I doing posting to Slashdot.
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Its called FUD. Take something people don't understand, add something they are scared of and the result they are more likely to vote in your favour.
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So should we ban porn? Should we ban IE because it's easily exploited?
And while limewire and kazaa (and the many other programs) have a a good chance of infecting you, what of bit torrent, it's quite a bit safer. Why should it be banned when it's has so many good uses.
(Yes I realize you don't agree with the argument.)
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Yes!
No.
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just like guns (Score:5, Insightful)
We should outlaw cars too, look at all the people they kill.
I know this has nothing to do about murder, but they are blaming the technology for the crimes. If you get rid of P2P, something new will replace it.
Thats assuming you can get rid of P2P. P2P will not go away any time soon.
Re:just like guns (Score:5, Insightful)
Your comparison of gun and cars is a bit flawed, IMO. Guns were invented to take lives; that is their purpose in the universe. Whereas cars are tools that countless uses and, Death Race 2000 fantasy aside, none of them are to kill people. I don't want to start a flame war here, just something I noticed....
Re:just like guns (Score:5, Insightful)
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Paper weight?
Using a gun is always a violent act.
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Re:just like guns (Score:5, Insightful)
Paper weight?
Using a gun is always a violent act.
Nonviolent Gun Uses: (Score:2)
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The alternative is for everyone to carry around knives in which case we'll probably have a lot more instances of both attacker and victim bleeding to death after stabbing each other.
Well, since I don't wear red and blue tights with a big S on my chest, I'd rather take my chances outrunning a knife man than a bullet. Plus if you count freaks trying to take down everyone the body count is a lot lower, since you actually need to be within stabbing distance of everyone. Plus you forget criminals also use weapons "defensively", if you catch a burglar with a gun chances are very good someone will get shot. If I catch a burglar with a knife, unless we're right on top of each other chances ar
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If I catch a burglar with a knife, unless we're right on top of each other chances are he's not interested in a Murder 2 charge but rather getting the hell out, while I'm not interested in getting killed trying to stop some deadbeat.
Of course if you catch him with a gun and your only weapon is a knife (since they are "less aggressive" in your mind) you might find yourself at a bit of a disadvantage ;)
I'd say we avoid a lot of unplanned murders - victims, criminals and police - because people aren't forced into a situation where they feel either they have to shoot or be shot.
You should look up the definition of murder. It's not murder if you kill someone to defend yourself or another human being. And personally, if somebody breaks into my house it will be the last thing they ever do.
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I am really getting tired of pacifists who do not seem to grasp the concept that NOT EVERYONE is a pacifist or has the want/need to ever become one. Power drives many people and violence exherts power. I am a proud owner of a firearm and I like the idea of being able to protect myself from the non-pacifit, largely violent group of people that really do exist. You really need to wake up from yo
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Many consider the threat of violence as just another form of violence. Or so I've heard.
In many places the direct threat of violence can bring you an assault charge even if there was no 'direct' violent act. ie. Telling someone (even without meaning it) that you're going to whomp them with this here big stick because they piss you off could (if the law became involved) net you a court date.
Therefore, as far as the law is concerned the treat of violence is also a violent act.
IANL, but I was told that by a copper one time after a pub brawl (no I wasn't involved).
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Some people are a bit mentally weaker than that. Threatening to punch them in the face would really fuck them up. So, the threat of violence is just as bad as the physical act.
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Why are there no substantial restrictions on the ownership of bows, crossbows, or even powered repeating crossbows? (the last is very fun to shoot)
Not only do they exist solely to kill, but they kill quieter than a silenced gun(which are generally illegal to own).
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When lawmakers propose a bill to allow "concealed crossbow" permits, then I'll take the threat of bows & arrows a little more seriously. Until then, have fun on the target range.
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And while there are no meaningful restrictions on the purchase and crossbow ownership is legal in all 50 states, most states and cities require CC permits or do not permit concealed carry, especially those without a CC for firearms. Same for any concealed weapon, really.
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Mbr
Eh? None of cars uses are to kill people? (Score:2)
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Re:just like guns (Score:5, Insightful)
From a strictly military standpoint, wounding an enemy is much, much more advantageous than killing him. It's one of the reasons NATO dropped from 7.62mm rounds to 5.56mm rounds - the smaller bullets tended to enter the target and tumble, causing more wounding. The 7.62mm rounds tended to pass straight through, meaning the most effective way to use it was to kill. Guns aren't designed to kill, they're designed to intimidate, often working even when no shots are fired or (if shots are fired) nobody is even hit. The decision to use the weapon to instead kill lies with the shooter.
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Early stereotypical P2P applications (Napster, etc) were designed to distribute files. Napster was designed almost exclusively to distribute copyrighted works.
It's true, the labels cried foul, maybe overreacted a bit. It was very similar to the way that they freaked out when people started creating mix tapes for each other, but it has only gotten worse. Sure, there was a very high demand for music and no legit way to purchase music online. People wanted to get their music from an onli
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Yes, this is an aspect of the situation that has always puzzled me. Clearly they do not understand the pervasiveness of p2p protocols. If you're going to ban "p2p" don't you have to ban my HTTP and FTP servers as well? (The first rule of USENET...)
I've been sorely tempted for quite some time to re-implement something like bit-torrent to run entirely on an HTTP connection (with a SOAP like API?) just to see how long it takes the "ban the technology" freaks to
Clueless legislators (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's see, that can apply to everything from raw sugar to automobiles. Quick, file legislation to make them all illegal!
Compromised Windows systems are being used to flood the internet with spam in violation of various state and federal laws. Outlaw Windows!
Why cant these congresscritters get it through their thick skulls that there are plenty of legitimate uses for P2P, even in a university environment. A university in Holland is using bittorrent to manage 6500 workstations [torrentfreak.com] and it's saving them time and money. The university I work at uses SystemImager [systemimager.org] on its high performance research cluster to manage the software on all the compute nodes. SystemImager supports the use of bittorrent as a transport mechanism. If these aren't legal, legitimate, and highly useful implementations of bittorrent then I don't know what is. These are just two working examples of P2P being used in university environments in responsible ways, but I'm sure those stuffed shirts in Washington could care less.
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I find it easier to believe that the cluelessness is simply a temporary condition caused by big wads of money being put into their hands by shady lobby groups.
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Just to play the devil's advocate: Could it be because the supposed benefits are outweighed by the known and (currently) uncontrollable abuses (piracy)? A poor analogy might be control of drugs. Certain drugs have benefits, but the negative abuses by the public encourage total prohibition. Yes, I know it doesn't stop people from doing drugs... but I'm sure it
Re:Clueless legislators (Score:5, Insightful)
Show me an independent report from a neutral party that shows the level of P2P piracy outweighs legitimate uses and I'd accept your argument. Better yet, show me that these idiots in Washington have read such a report.
I've already shown a couple valid uses for P2P. Here are a few others:
I bet that most people don't realize that by simply visiting popular websites like Google you're relying on P2P to some extent. They may not be using well known products like bittorrent or limewire but the data moving around the back end of search engines, the images you see on websites like Microsofts, and even the videos you watch on a site like youtube, are all distributed in part through P2P systems of some sort. They may be entirely custom built or they may rest on top of a protocol like bittorrent. The bottom line is that there's a lot of data being transferred legally via P2P for a number of purposes. I bet if somebody could come up with a realistic and impartial set of numbers you'd be surprised at how much legitimate P2P traffic there is compared to illegal P2P traffic.
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Nice try, but the situation is more like this:
Wait, maybe I should add something extra:
Nope, there's still one more thing missing:
Many Don't Seem to Understand (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Many Don't Seem to Understand (Score:5, Insightful)
And you're helping them fight us.
BTW, I'm a geezer.
It's said that if you're a conservative when you're young you have no heart. If you're a liberal when you're old you have no brains. I'd say if you consider yourself boxed into outdated ideas like "liberal" and "conservative" you have neither brains nor heart.
When I was in my tewnties, marijuana was going to be legal as soon as my generation got in power. Well, so much for THAT generational battle!
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I'd say if you consider yourself boxed into outdated ideas like "liberal" and "conservative" you have neither brains nor heart.
s/liberal/Democrat
s/conservative/Republican
(or vice versa, not the point)
I've never been at an election where I didn't have a party to vote for (7 in sitting parliament) or at least some I was voting dead against. I've changed party to a different party with much the same politics because the leadership sucked, which means I could abandon poor leaders without abandoning good politics. My vote has always mattered through representative distribution of seats in parliament, no "winner takes it all" where the
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Do remember that those "old" who are now collecting Social Security and Medicare were "robbed" to pay for SS and M for those before them. I'd be thrilled to eliminate SS and M - except that I've been paying into it for many years money I could have otherwise been investing and that I'm damned sure I won't get back if SS and M go away. Give me back all that money, with appropriate interest paid on it (that is, if it was invested in 1993, it s
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e-mail (Score:4, Insightful)
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Heck with it, let's just ban computers altogether! Are you with me?
Oh, wait...
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Windows (For being easy to compremize and turn into a bot)
Apache (For hosting some identity theft websites)
Linux (For running Apache)
Unix (For also running Apache)
OS X (For being Unix)
Any text editor/word processor (For giving the criminals the ability to type fradulant websites)
You must be this smart to ride this ride (Score:4, Funny)
Really? Identity theft over P2P? Anyone who identity is so weak they could lose it by grabbing a torrent of Ubuntu probably has bigger problems than this congressdroid wants to address.
Sign is in the wrong place (Score:2)
You should have put the sign on the voting booth. Would solve all your troubles. Offcourse it is the end of democracy, but hey, that is a small price to pay right.
Oh, and the fact that you put the sign in the wrong place, doesn't that mean it applies to you?
They did this (Score:2, Informative)
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What they should have done is imposed a hard 1000 MB/day bandwidth limit or something like that. Enough for legitimate uses, not enough to be a bandwidth hog.
No surprises here (Score:5, Informative)
Hrm, who do I see here? The RIAA, ASCAP, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the American IP Law Association, all in his top 10.
The only surprise here is how long it's taken him to get around to taking care of them...
God bless America (Score:2)
Why stop there? (Score:3, Interesting)
Or write-able drives? Or photocopiers? Or word of mouth... Or books.. Hell, lets ban knowledge.
Blocking is USELESS (Score:3, Informative)
Sadly (Score:4, Insightful)
when will they get it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Its one thing for some old politician to not properly understand the technology that he is trying to ban, but one would think a university would be better educated than to assume ALL p2p traffic must be copyright infringment.
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I agree it is a stupid ban. I just wanted to point out there are oth
Is this the best trolls can do these days? (Score:3, Insightful)
Because in the latter example, you're stealing material property. That crime is called theft. In the former example, you're copying data illegally -- that crime is called copyright infringement, and the difference is that nobody was deprived of a physical copy of the merchandise. Thievery me