OT: RIAA and Their Law Suits

Cyrien · #1 September 14th, 2003, 04:02 AM

My own views on this are mixed.

However I do believe that the RIAA is fighting a losing battle. Modern security and encrytion methods are available that can stump the NSA and CIA. Once advanced encryption becomes widespread it will become impossible for anyone to crack down on it.

Quite simply the old business model and crime prevention models for these people are dead. Instead of trying to bring it back to life they need to move on and come up with something else that will still let them make money. What is that? I don't know. It isn't my industry. Anonymous and encrypted peer to peer file sharing will spell the end for several standard business models in easily movable data. Primarily music, movies and games... Why not books? Simple. Most people still prefer a solid hard cover that they can easily carry around. Why E-books still aren't that popular. Maybe in time it applies to them as well.

PS: Last I checked the number of peer to peer music/movie pirates was estimated at several million not several hundred, in the US alone. The real damage isn't being done by a few people offering a lot of files it is by a lot of people offering a few.
If the RIAA even tried to sue several million people assuming they could make that list and track em down they would bankrupt themselves in the effort alone. Imagine the legal costs! Imagine the firestorm of bad PR! Oooo boy.

Try it out. Download E-mule or some such, connect and use the built in search feature to search for whatever movie/game/music you can think of. I bet you find it, despite 200+ people offering thousands of files for download being forced to stop.

PS: Please note that the RIAA amnesty offer only applies to lawsuits they themselves would enter into. It does not say that they won't give your name upto some other interested party and that that party won't sue you. BEWARE!!!

[ September 14, 2003, 03:06: Message edited by: Cyrien ]

Fyron · #2 September 14th, 2003, 04:06 AM

128 KB encryption is the standard now, and it is a tough nut to crack. Wait til 1024 KB or higher encryption comes out.

Atrocities · #3 September 14th, 2003, 04:18 AM

The RIAA is most devious!

narf poit chez BOOM · #4 September 14th, 2003, 04:22 AM

incryption could be used to show that you bought the song, if you bought a download.

[ September 14, 2003, 03:22: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Fyron · #5 September 14th, 2003, 04:51 AM

Yes, and it could be used to remain completely anonymous...

Baron Munchausen · #6 September 14th, 2003, 05:06 AM

Cyrien:

This loophole in the RIAA amnesty has been pointed out by many others, and there have actually been lawsuits filed against RIAA for this 'amnesty' tactic, claiming it is a form of entrapment....

I wonder how many people have been paying enough attention to the news to notice their cynical lobbying tactics, as well. They've had lobbyists before congressional committees claiming that P2P networks are supporting terrorism in hopes of stampeding lawmakers into some extreme action to shut them down. Most recently thay've been shouting about all the p0rn available in P2P and the lack of controls to prevent children getting access to it. As if kids need to go to P2P if they want p0rn? How many ordinary middle-class dads (erm, or moms... 60 percent of Playboy Subscribers are female...

) lock up their Playboy magazines? And how many 14-year-olds can't get p0rn from 16-year-olds, who got it from 18-year-olds? But they'll try anything. I'm sure they'll start screaming about the evil 'bomb making information' available on P2P networks or something else like that soon...

Baron Munchausen · #7 September 14th, 2003, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Yes, and it could be used to remain completely anonymous...

There are open discussions in Slashdot stories covering the current RIAA legal maneuavers about completely "blacked-out" P2P networks that trade a constant flow of encrypted fake data so you can't even tell how much traffic any one site is carrying let alone what files are being moved. And also discussions of preventing any one site from having to serve all of a given file, further obfuscating the actual data being traded and creating some difficult issues of 'legal liability' for the copyright hounds. If this is already being discussed in the open, there's a lot of work already underway in the quiet corners of the 'hacker' community. There will be a new generation of P2P applications coming out, probably within months, that will give RIAA nightmares. They really cannot win.

[ September 14, 2003, 04:13: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]