summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html')
-rw-r--r--talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html456
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 456 deletions
diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 8ea4d7b..0000000
--- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_17.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,456 +0,0 @@
-<!-- This is the second edition of Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman.
-
-Free Software Foundation
-
-51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor
-
-Boston, MA 02110-1335
-Copyright C 2002, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire book are permitted
-worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is
-preserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations
-of this book from the original English into another language provided
-the translation has been approved by the Free Software Foundation and
-the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all
-copies.
-
-ISBN 978-0-9831592-0-9
-Cover design by Rob Myers.
-
-Cover photograph by Peter Hinely.
- -->
-
-
- <a name="The-Right-to-Read_003a-A-Dystopian-Short-Story">
- </a>
- <h1 class="chapter">
- 17. The Right to Read: A Dystopian Short Story
- </h1>
- <a name="index-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_003a-A-Dystopian-Short-Story_0027_0027-_0028see-also-DMCA_002c-DRM_002c-fair-use_002c-and-libraries_0029">
- </a>
- <p>
- <em>
- From
- <cite>
- <span class="roman">
- The Road to Tycho,
- </span>
- </cite>
- a collection of articles about the antecedents of the Lunarian Revolution, published in Luna City in 2096.
- </em>
- <br>
- For Dan Halbert, the road to Tycho began in college—when Lissa
-Lenz asked to borrow his computer. Hers had broken down, and unless
-she could borrow another, she would fail her midterm project. There
-was no one she dared ask, except Dan.
- </br>
- </p>
- <p>
- This put Dan in a dilemma. He had to help her—but if he lent
-her his computer, she might read his books. Aside from the fact that
-you could go to prison for many years for letting someone else read
-your books, the very idea shocked him at first. Like everyone, he had
-been taught since elementary school that sharing books was nasty and
-wrong—something that only pirates would do.
- </p>
- <p>
- And there wasn’t much chance that the SPA—the Software
-Protection Authority—would fail to catch him. In his software
-class, Dan had learned that each book had a copyright monitor that
-reported when and where it was read, and by whom, to Central
-Licensing. (They used this information to catch reading pirates, but
-also to sell personal interest profiles to retailers.) The next time
-his computer was networked, Central Licensing would find out. He, as
-computer owner, would receive the harshest punishment—for not
-taking pains to prevent the crime.
- </p>
- <p>
- Of course, Lissa did not necessarily intend to read his books. She
-might want the computer only to write her midterm. But Dan knew she
-came from a middle-class family and could hardly afford the tuition,
-let alone her reading fees. Reading his books might be the only way
-she could graduate. He understood this situation; he himself had had
-to borrow to pay for all the research papers he read. (Ten percent of those
-fees went to the researchers who wrote the papers; since Dan aimed for
-an academic career, he could hope that his own research papers, if
-frequently referenced, would bring in enough to repay this loan.)
- </p>
- <p>
- Later on, Dan would learn there was a time when anyone could go to the
-library and read journal articles, and even books, without having to
-pay. There were independent scholars who read thousands of pages
-without government library grants. But in the 1990s, both commercial
-and nonprofit journal publishers had begun charging fees for access.
-By 2047, libraries offering free public access to scholarly literature
-were a dim memory.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were ways, of course, to get around the SPA and Central
-Licensing. They were themselves illegal. Dan had had a classmate in
-software, Frank Martucci, who had obtained an illicit debugging tool,
-and used it to skip over the copyright monitor code when reading
-books. But he had told too many friends about it, and one of them
-turned him in to the SPA for a reward (students deep in debt were
-easily tempted into betrayal). In 2047, Frank was in prison, not for
-pirate reading, but for possessing a debugger.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan would later learn that there was a time when anyone could have
-debugging tools. There were even free debugging tools available on CD
-or downloadable over the net. But ordinary users started using them
-to bypass copyright monitors, and eventually a judge ruled that this
-had become their principal use in actual practice. This meant they
-were illegal; the debuggers’ developers were sent to prison.
- </p>
- <p>
- Programmers still needed debugging tools, of course, but debugger
-vendors in 2047 distributed numbered copies only, and only to
-officially licensed and bonded programmers. The debugger Dan used in
-software class was kept behind a special firewall so that it could be
-used only for class exercises.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was also possible to bypass the copyright monitors by installing a
-modified system kernel. Dan would eventually find out about the free
-kernels, even entire free operating systems, that had existed around
-the turn of the century. But not only were they illegal, like
-debuggers—you could not install one if you had one, without
-knowing your computer’s root password. And neither
-the FBI nor Microsoft Support would tell you that.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan concluded that he couldn’t simply lend Lissa his computer. But he
-couldn’t refuse to help her, because he loved her. Every chance to
-speak with her filled him with delight. And that she chose him to ask
-for help, that could mean she loved him too.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan resolved the dilemma by doing something even more
-unthinkable—he lent her the computer, and told her his password.
-This way, if Lissa read his books, Central Licensing would think he
-was reading them. It was still a crime, but the SPA would not
-automatically find out about it. They would only find out if Lissa
-reported him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Of course, if the school ever found out that he had given Lissa his
-own password, it would be curtains for both of them as students,
-regardless of what she had used it for. School policy was that any
-interference with their means of monitoring students’ computer use was
-grounds for disciplinary action. It didn’t matter whether you did
-anything harmful—the offense was making it hard for the
-administrators to check on you. They assumed this meant you were
-doing something else forbidden, and they did not need to know what it
-was.
- </p>
- <p>
- Students were not usually expelled for this—not directly.
-Instead they were banned from the school computer systems, and would
-inevitably fail all their classes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Later, Dan would learn that this kind of university policy started
-only in the 1980s, when university students in large numbers began
-using computers. Previously, universities maintained a different
-approach to student discipline; they punished activities that were
-harmful, not those that merely raised suspicion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lissa did not report Dan to the SPA. His decision to help her led to
-their marriage, and also led them to question what they had been
-taught about piracy as children. The couple began reading about the
-history of copyright, about the Soviet Union and its restrictions on
-copying, and even the original United States Constitution. They moved
-to Luna, where they found others who had likewise gravitated away from
-the long arm of the SPA. When the Tycho Uprising began in 2062, the
-universal right to read soon became one of its central aims.
- <a name="index-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_003a-A-Dystopian-Short-Story_0027_0027-_0028see-also-DMCA_002c-DRM_002c-fair-use_002c-and-libraries_0029-1">
- </a>
- </p>
- <a name="index-DMCA-_0028see-also-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_002c_0027_0027-fair-use_002c-DRM_002c-and-libraries_0029-1">
- </a>
- <a name="index-Digital-Millennium-Copyright-Act-_0028DMCA_0029-_0028see-also-DMCA_002c-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_002c_0027_0027-fair-use_002c-DRM_002c-and-libraries_0029">
- </a>
- <p>
- The right to read is a battle being fought today. Although it may
-take 50 years for our present way of life to fade into obscurity, most
-of the specific laws and practices described above have already been
-proposed; many have been enacted into law in the US and elsewhere. In
-the US, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) established the legal
-basis to restrict the reading and lending of computerized books (and
-other works as well). The
- <a name="index-European-Union">
- </a>
- European Union imposed similar restrictions
-in a 2001 copyright directive. In
- <a name="index-France">
- </a>
- France, under the
- <a name="index-DADVSI-_0028see-also-both-DMCA-and-DRM_0029">
- </a>
- DADVSI law adopted in 2006, mere possession of a copy of
- <a name="index-DeCSS-_0028see-also-both-DMCA-and-DRM_0029">
- </a>
- DeCSS, the free program
-to decrypt video on a DVD, is a crime.
- </p>
- <p>
- In 2001,
- <a name="index-Disney">
- </a>
- Disney-funded Senator
- <a name="index-Hollings_002c-Senator-Ernest">
- </a>
- Hollings proposed a bill called the
- <a name="index-Security-Systems-Standards-and-Certification-Act-_0028SSSCA_0029-_0028see-also-Consumer-Broadband-and-Digital-Television-Promotion-Act-_0028CBDTPA_0029_0029">
- </a>
- SSSCA that would require every new computer to have mandatory
-copy-restriction facilities that the user cannot bypass. Following
-the
- <a name="index-Clipper-chip">
- </a>
- Clipper chip and similar US government key-escrow proposals, this
-shows a long-term trend: computer systems are increasingly set up to
-give absentees with clout control over the people actually using the
-computer system. The SSSCA was later renamed to the unpronounceable
- <a name="index-Consumer-Broadband-and-Digital-Television-Promotion-Act-_0028CBDTPA_0029-1">
- </a>
- CBDTPA, which was glossed as the “Consume But Don’t Try
-Programming Act.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Republicans took control of the US senate shortly thereafter.
-They are less tied to
- <a name="index-Hollywood">
- </a>
- Hollywood than the Democrats, so they did not
-press these proposals. Now that the Democrats are back in control,
-the danger is once again higher.
- </p>
- <p>
- In 2001 the US began attempting to use the proposed
- <a name="index-Free-Trade-Area-of-the-Americas-_0028FTAA_0029">
- </a>
- Free Trade Area of
-the Americas (FTAA) treaty to impose the same rules on all the countries in
-the Western Hemisphere. The FTAA is one of the so-called free
-trade treaties, which are actually designed to give business
-increased power over democratic governments; imposing laws like the
-DMCA is typical of this spirit. The FTAA was effectively killed by
- <a name="index-Lula-da-Silva_002c-President">
- </a>
- <a name="index-da-Silva_002c-President-Luis-Inacio-Lula">
- </a>
- Lula, President of
- <a name="index-Brazil-1">
- </a>
- Brazil, who rejected the DMCA requirement and
-others.
-@let@textindent=@gobble
-@def@hang{@kern-@defaultparindent}@hangindent=0pt@relax
-@def@thisfootno{}
-@dofootnote{
- <em>
- ^1
- </em>
- This note has been updated several times since the first publication of the story.}
- </p>
- <p>
- Since then, the US has imposed similar requirements on countries such
-as
- <a name="index-Australia">
- </a>
- Australia and
- <a name="index-Mexico">
- </a>
- Mexico through bilateral “free trade”
-agreements, and on countries such as
- <a name="index-Costa-Rica">
- </a>
- Costa Rica through another
-treaty,
- <a name="index-CAFTA">
- </a>
- CAFTA.
- <a name="index-Ecuador">
- </a>
- Ecuador’s President
- <a name="index-Correa_002c-President-Rafael">
- </a>
- Correa refused to sign a
-“free trade” agreement with the US, but I’ve heard Ecuador
-had adopted something like the DMCA in 2003.
- </p>
- <a name="index-Microsoft_002c-control-over-users">
- </a>
- <p>
- One of the ideas in the story was not proposed in reality until 2002.
-This is the idea that the
- <a name="index-FBI">
- </a>
- FBI and Microsoft will keep the
-root passwords for your personal computers, and not let you have
-them.
- </p>
- <p>
- The proponents of this scheme have given it names such as
- <a name="index-_0060_0060trusted-computing_002c_0027_0027-avoid-use-of-term-_0028see-also-treacherous-computing_0029-1">
- </a>
- “trusted computing” and
- <a name="index-Palladium">
- </a>
- “Palladium.” We call
-it
- <a name="index-treacherous-computing-1">
- </a>
- “treacherous
-computing” because the effect is to make your computer obey
-companies even to the extent of disobeying and defying you. This was
-implemented in 2007 as part of
- <a name="index-Windows_002c-Vista">
- </a>
- <a name="index-Vista_002c-Windows-_0028see-also-both-Windows-and-DRM_0029">
- </a>
- Windows Vista; we expect
- <a name="index-Apple-_0028see-also-DRM_0029">
- </a>
- Apple to do something similar. In this scheme,
-it is the manufacturer that keeps the secret code, but
-the FBI would have little trouble getting it.
- </p>
- <p>
- What Microsoft keeps is not exactly a password in the traditional
-sense; no person ever types it on a terminal. Rather, it is a
-signature and encryption key that corresponds to a second key stored
-in your computer. This enables Microsoft, and potentially any web
-sites that cooperate with Microsoft, the ultimate control over what
-the user can do on his own computer.
- </p>
- <a name="index-DRM_002c-Vista_0027s-main-purpose">
- </a>
- <p>
- Vista also gives Microsoft additional powers; for instance, Microsoft
-can forcibly install upgrades, and it can order all machines running
-Vista to refuse to run a certain device driver. The main purpose of
-Vista’s many restrictions is to impose DRM (Digital Restrictions
-Management) that users can’t overcome. The threat of DRM is why we
-have established the
- <a name="index-Defective-by-Design-_0028see-also-DRM_0029-1">
- </a>
- Defective by Design campaign.
- </p>
- <a name="index-Software-Publishers-Association-_0028SPA_0029-2">
- </a>
- <p>
- When this story was first written, the SPA was threatening small
-Internet service providers, demanding they permit the SPA to monitor
-all users. Most
- <a name="index-ISP-_0028Internet-Service-Provider_0029">
- </a>
- ISPs surrendered when threatened, because they cannot
-afford to fight back in court. One ISP,
- <a name="index-Community-ConneXion">
- </a>
- Community ConneXion in
-Oakland, California, refused the demand and was actually sued. The
-SPA later dropped the suit, but obtained the DMCA, which gave them the
-power they sought.
- <a name="index-DMCA-_0028see-also-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_002c_0027_0027-fair-use_002c-DRM_002c-and-libraries_0029-2">
- </a>
- <a name="index-Digital-Millennium-Copyright-Act-_0028DMCA_0029-_0028see-also-DMCA_002c-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_002c_0027_0027-fair-use_002c-DRM_002c-and-libraries_0029-1">
- </a>
- </p>
- <p>
- The SPA, which actually stands for Software Publishers Association,
-has been replaced in its police-like role by the
- <a name="index-Business-Software-Alliance-_0028BSA_0029-_0028see-also-Software-Publishers-Association-_0028SPA_0029_0029">
- </a>
- Business
-Software Alliance. The BSA is not, today, an official police force;
-unofficially, it acts like one. Using methods reminiscent of the
-erstwhile
- <a name="index-Soviet-Union-2">
- </a>
- Soviet Union, it invites people to inform on their coworkers
-and friends. A BSA terror campaign in
- <a name="index-Argentina">
- </a>
- Argentina in 2001 made
-slightly veiled threats that people sharing software would be raped.
- </p>
- <a name="index-universities-2">
- </a>
- <p>
- The university security policies described above are not imaginary.
-For example, a computer at one Chicago-area university displayed this
-message upon login:
- </p>
- <blockquote class="smallquotation">
- <p>
- This system is for the use of authorized users only. Individuals using
-this computer system without authority or in the excess of their authority
-are subject to having all their activities on this system monitored and
-recorded by system personnel. In the course of monitoring individuals
-improperly using this system or in the course of system maintenance, the
-activities of authorized user may also be monitored. Anyone using this
-system expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such
-monitoring reveals possible evidence of illegal activity or violation of
-University regulations system personnel may provide the evidence of such
-monitoring to University authorities and/or law enforcement officials.
- </p>
- </blockquote>
- <p>
- This is an interesting approach to the
- <a name="index-Fourth-Amendment">
- </a>
- Fourth Amendment: pressure most
-everyone to agree, in advance, to waive their rights under it.
- </p>
- <a name="References">
- </a>
- <h3 class="subheading">
- References
- </h3>
- <ul>
- <li>
- United States Patent and Trademark Office,
- <cite>
- Intellectual Property [
- <em>
- sic
- </em>
- ] and the National Information Infrastructure: The Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property [
- <em>
- sic
- </em>
- ] Rights,
- </cite>
- Washington, DC: GPO, 1995.
- </li>
- <li>
- Samuelson, Pamela, “The Copyright Grab,”
- <em>
- Wired,
- </em>
- January 1996, n. 4.01.
- </li>
- <li>
- Boyle, James, “Sold Out,”
- <em>
- New York Times,
- </em>
- 31 March 1996, sec. 4, p. 15.
- </li>
- <li>
- Editorial,
- <em>
- Washington Post,
- </em>
- “Public Data or Private Data,” 3 November 1996, sec. C, p. 6.
- </li>
- <li>
- Union for the Public Domain—an organization that aims to resist and reverse the overextension of copyright and patent powers.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <hr size="2"/>
-