They Know What You're Watching

Wired News ^ | May 3, 2002 | Farhad Manjoo

[Pern]

One day after a federal magistrate judge ordered Sonicblue to monitor the TV-watching habits of people who use its ReplayTV 4000 personal video recorder, the company is hard at work on two separate tracks: While its legal team works on a way to stay or perhaps reverse the ruling, its engineers are trying to come up with software to track thousands of ReplayTV customers in the event that the ruling is not changed.

[Pern]

I find it ironic that a Federal judge, whose job is to protect our constitutional rights, has ordered a mass privacy invasion on the users of this product.

Amerika the Free!! (my ass).

[Buffalo Bob]

Yeah, but once we all get the implants and are monitored from womb to tomb we'll no longer have to worry about such problems.

[Teacher317]

SHHH! Don't confuse them with logic! It makes 'em even more restless and unConstitutional.

[hoosierham]

INVASION OF PRIVACY !!!!!

Why doesn't the company ask its customers to join in lawsuit against this magistrate or maybe an action for impeachment for violating Constitutional rights ?

[pepsi_junkie]

Why would this not constitute a violation of the 4th ammendment, an illegal search without cause? They are going into your home and looking at what you have/do there in order to determine IF a crime is being committed (copyright violation) all without a warrant.

Also, since the data is going to be made anonymous I would presume that the increasingly gestapo-like "entertainment industry" is really trying to build up a database of consumer preferences for marketing purposes. So in the case the government is confiscating something of value from the player owners to give to someone else who will benefit from it, all without any compensation. Another violation.