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P2p war Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/techtv_piracybill020731.htmlhttp://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/techtv_piracybill020731.html
Fair or Foul Way to Fight Pirates?
Tech Firms and Hollywood Divided Over Proposed Bill to Stop Piracy
By Peter Barnes, Tech Live Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief
July 31 — Record companies are supporting a new bill in Congress that would let them legally disable peer-to-peer (P2P) networks — and even target individual computers — to fight digital piracy.
Observers say chances are remote that the so-called Peer to Peer Piracy Prevention Act will pass Congress. The proposal represents the latest round in the battle between content companies and technology firms over how to control illegal copying and distribution of copyright material on the Web.
"If the pirates are able to develop services without any obstacles and reach millions in seconds, then at least the technology ought to be available to the [copyright] owners to prevent that piracy — without hacking anyone's computer, without violating anyone's privacy, without doing any damage to a PC," said Mitch Glazier, senior vice president for government relations at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in Washington, D.C.
Legalized Hacking?
The proposal outrages some critics.
Fred Von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in San Francisco, calls it "legalized hacking" for copyright holders. He also calls it ironic, given that Washington just toughened anti-hacking laws in order to fight cyberterrorism.
"Frankly, that's too much power. That's a degree of power we wouldn't trust the FBI with," Von Lohmann said of the legal provisions copyright companies could win under the new legislation. "What the… bill does is allow [record companies] to break the law." He says music companies have enough power to fight digital piracy under existing federal statutes.
The RIAA won't discuss methods that record companies could use to disable KaZaA, Morpheus, and other peer-to-peer software, other than to say they would encompass existing and future technologies.
But Von Lohmann says the firms appear to want to use denial-of-service attacks on peer-to-peer computers, which would be overwhelmed and clogged by worthless messages and traffic. Such attacks by legitimate firms on copyright violators are legally questionable, Von Lohmann says, and the proposed legislation would give companies a "safe harbor" to conduct them and prevent them from being sued by their targets.
Dealing with Piracy
The measure was introduced last week by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. "Theft is theft, whether it is shoplifting a CD in a record store or illegally downloading a song form Morpheus," Berman said in a statement announcing the legislation. "P2P piracy must be cleaned up, and cleaned up now."
The recording industry estimates that P2P users have shared billions of copies of digital songs. The movie studios complain that pirated copies of films routinely show up on the Internet. Both industries have filed suit in federal court to fight KaZaA, Morpheus, and other P2P software companies.
"KaZaA is, in our opinion, a facilitator of mass piracy," Glazier said.
Now music companies reportedly are also considering filing suits against individuals who store a large volume of digital music. In addition, the labels are increasingly deploying techniques to make it harder for people to share files. These methods include "file spoofing," in which companies post decoy music files filled with annoying static, noise, and music loops.
"If you are putting up a dummy file or you're putting up a file to prevent access… the fact that they get access to that file instead of the real file is not hacking. That is working within the system," Glazier said.
In order to prevent abuses, the Berman bill includes some strict limits to what content companies can do. The measure forbids them from sending viruses through P2P networks, destroying files, hacking into personal files, and blocking legitimate file sharing. It also requires companies to notify the Department of Justice when they intend to attack a P2P network. The legislation lets computer owners file suit against content companies that don't follow the rules.
At least one technology trade group, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, attacked the Berman bill, saying, "No other industry has been deputized to prosecute its own enforcement actions, and we see no compelling reason to provide this enormous grant of power to Hollywood." The organization's members include AOL, Yahoo!, Verizon, and Sun Microsystems.
The Motion Picture Association of America said in a statement that it was "pleased" by the bill's introduction, but that "there are aspects of the bill we believe need changing as it moves through the legislative process. We look forward to working with Congress in this regard."
In a statement, Sharman Networks of Australia, which created KaZaA, said of the Berman bill, "We urge all users and supporters of technologic innovation to contact Congress and voice strong opposition to this entertainment industry effort to gain exemption from the law and take malicious action against consumers' privacy and other rights."
Copyright 2002 TechTV, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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