The Avalanche Has Started, and the Pebbles No Longer Vote -Sunday, October 05, 2003 -4:30 am-
As you all know, I'm pretty pissed off at the American government. One of the most stupid things it has done it to enact a law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (full text of law HERE.) The DMCA didn't even have to go through the Constitutionally mandated process to become a law. It was a treaty draft by the WTO and the WIPO that just became law because the US is a part of those bodies. What the DMCA does it prevent anyone from owning, creating, using, discussing, or sharing copyright-circumvention technology. Sounds like a good thing, right? It went horrible wrong. Ever downloaded a mp3? You're a felon. Ever ripped a CD? You're a felon. Ever played a DVD on a non-Windows or non-Apple computer? You're a felon. Ever owned an Apex DVD player? You're a felon. Ever tried to get a new CD that doesn't like your car CD player to play? You're a felon. Ever told someone you've found a flaw in the student ID card you use (BuckID or Blackboard)? You're a felon. We've lived under this draconian law for 5 years now. For the next few days, I'll be posting examples of how this law has violated 1st Amendment rights, punished the innocent, and stifled scientific advancement. Call your Congressmen.
Blackboard is a system of ID cards used on hundreds of campuses nationwide. Recently, as a research project, a student at one of the universities noticed several security vulnerabilities that could result in thousands of dollars being stolen from students. The student tried to give a lecture to security professionals from major universities. The result:
Blackboard Threatens Security Researchers
In April 2003, educational software company Blackboard Inc. used a DMCA threat to stop the presentation of research on security vulnerabilities in its products at the InterzOne II conference in Atlanta. Students Billy Hoffman and Virgil Griffith were scheduled to present their research on security flaws in the Blackboard ID card system used by university campus security systems but were blocked shortly before the talk by a cease-and-desist letter invoking the DMCA. Blackboard obtained a temporary restraining order against the students and the conference organizers at a secret "ex parte" hearing the day before the conference began, giving the students and conference organizer no opportunity to appear in court or challenge the order before the scheduled presentation. Although the lawsuit complaint Blackboard subsequently filed did not mention the DMCA, its invocation in the original cease-and-desist letter preceding the complaint contributed to the chill the students and conference organizers felt in challenging the complaint and proceeding with the scheduled presentation.
John Borland, "Court Blocks Security Conference Talk," CNET News, April 14, 2003. http://news.com.com/2100-1028-996836.html
Or another case:
Professor Felten's Research Team ThreatenedGo the the Anti-DMCA Website to learn more.
In September 2000, a multi-industry group known as the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) issued a public challenge encouraging skilled technologists to try to defeat certain watermarking technologies intended to protect digital music. Princeton Professor Edward Felten and a team of researchers at Princeton, Rice, and Xerox took up the challenge and succeeded in removing the watermarks.
When the team tried to present their results at an academic conference, however, SDMI representatives threatened the researchers with liability under the DMCA. The threat letter was also delivered to the researchers' employers and the conference organizers. After extensive discussions with counsel, the researchers grudgingly withdrew their paper from the conference. The threat was ultimately withdrawn and a portion of the research was published at a subsequent conference, but only after the researchers filed a lawsuit.
After enduring this experience, at least one of the researchers involved has decided to forgo further research efforts in this field.
Pamela Samuelson, "Anticircumvention Rules: Threat to Science," 293 Science 2028, Sept. 14, 2001. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/293/5537/2028
Letter from Matthew Oppenheim, SDMI General Counsel, to Prof. Edward Felten, April 9, 2001. http://cryptome.org/sdmi-attack.htm