DISQUS

Thelonecabbage · 1 year ago

All good and well. But if the cable company can do as they will with their content, I should be able to do as I will with the TV and/or cable box I own.

Under current DMCA legislation, if I modify, in any way, my own property I can do jail time.

Freedom only works if it's on both sides of the divide.

Over protection of copyrighted material, by limiting my rights to do with my own property as I will, is equally invalid.

Alex Harris · 1 year ago

I fully agree that the government shouldn't ban technologies, such as DRM-circumvention technologies, but rather just ban illegal uses of them.

Ryan actually makes this point at the end of his post:

The real impediment to fair use isn’t Selectable Output Control, but the DMCA’s chilling anti-circumvention clause. Software capable of breaking DRM shouldn’t be banned, but robust DRM shouldn’t be illegal, either. Consumers will shun content that’s encumbered with intrusive DRM, and market forces will reward copy-protection schemes that balance transparency with robustness. In the ongoing battle over DRM, the best course for government is to stay out entirely.