The search query was innocent enough: new technologies introduced in 2011.
But look what greeted me (a first, really) at the bottom of page 1:
Of course I clicked the link! And of course it was a music company (EMI) with a long-list of “allegedly infringing URLs.”
How my search query came to be identified with a record title/artist is beyond my imagination!
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was written in response to 1983′s War Games, according to EFF attorney Marcia Hofmann.
Who has seen the movie War Games? 1983. Congress freaked out and passed Computer Fraud & Abuse Act: 18 USC Section 1030 Marcia Hofmann @eff — Kathy E Gill (@kegill) March 5, 2013
Not only is it stone age in origin, much of its sweeping power rests in one ill-defined phrase — unauthorized access — and one contract clause — terms of service. Yes, this is a law that is both civil and criminal in nature. Continue reading
Techmeme Screen Capture
Remember, if it sounds too awful to be true, then 99.9% of the time … it’s not true. Or not completely true.
And that’s the case with this headline, which made its way ’round the net on Thursday. The story popped up in a Facebook conversation on a different subject. Then I wandered over to Techmeme, where I made this screen capture.
But there is a germ of truth in the headline.
Read on. Please.
Curious about the terms of service on photo sharing websites? This table provides a summary of a more detailed Google spreadsheet.
Via the Boston Globe we learn that MIT refused to sign off on a plea bargain that would have meant no jail time for Aaron Swartz (per his lawyer).
I’m not the only person inexplicably troubled by this story. Nor am I the only person to criticize the Department of Justice. I have a roundup of essays.