Hatch: Set us up the bomb!
Posted on 06/17/2003 2:54:06 PM PDT by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.
The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.
During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.
"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to disrupt music downloads. One technique deliberately downloads pirated material very slowly so other users can't.
"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."
The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."
"If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize" the seriousness of their actions, he said.
"There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Hatch said.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., who has been active in copyright debates in Washington, urged Hatch to reconsider. Boucher described Hatch's role as chairman of the Judiciary Committee as "a very important position, so when Senator Hatch indicates his views with regard to a particular subject, we all take those views very seriously."
Some legal experts suggested Hatch's provocative remarks were more likely intended to compel technology and music executives to work faster toward ways to protect copyrights online than to signal forthcoming legislation.
"It's just the frustration of those who are looking at enforcing laws that are proving very hard to enforce," said Orin Kerr, a former Justice Department cybercrimes prosecutor and associate professor at George Washington University law school.
The entertainment industry has gradually escalated its fight against Internet file-traders, targeting the most egregious pirates with civil lawsuits. The Recording Industry Association of America recently won a federal court decision making it significantly easier to identify and track consumers - even those hiding behind aliases - using popular Internet file-sharing software.
Kerr predicted it was "extremely unlikely" for Congress to approve a hacking exemption for copyright owners, partly because of risks of collateral damage when innocent users might be wrongly targeted.
"It wouldn't work," Kerr said. "There's no way of limiting the damage."
Last year, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., ignited a firestorm across the Internet over a proposal to give the entertainment industry new powers to disrupt downloads of pirated music and movies. It would have lifted civil and criminal penalties against entertainment companies for disabling, diverting or blocking the trading of pirated songs and movies on the Internet.
But Berman, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary panel on the Internet and intellectual property, always has maintained that his proposal wouldn't permit hacker-style attacks by the industry on Internet users.
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On the Net: Sen. Hatch: http://hatch.senate.gov
AP-ES-06-17-03 1716EDT
I would bet that the "damage" would have an unmistakable and traceable signature. The "forensics" necessary would be far easier than most police investigations. The owner of the damaged computer would then have the evidence and the identity of the perpetrator. Sounds like fodder for a big class action suit.
Music, theater, plays, novels and newspapers were around in that period, and the theater was moneymaking. The intent of copyright was NOT to protect them.
The intent was to protect technology. Now HATCH has had enough of freedom, and favors the merchant nobility that has generations past been granted their titles of "copyright" nobility. All hail the Duke of Mickey Mouse! All hail the Earl of "Happy Birthday to You"!
And it seems to me that accused copyright infringers should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Does Hatch realize exactly how much of that stuff in the Mormon genealogical archives has been purloined from copyrighted books and articles?
I thought Mormons were supposed to work on genealogy as part of their religious practice and here's Orin Hatch, just about the highest ranking elected Mormon in America, and he's saying "destroy their computers".
I think this one is going to have to go back to the workshop for a complete overhaul!
If this were ever to happen, you'd see so much funny stuff happen to record co people...cancelled credit cards, late notices on everything, repoed cars, etc.
I'm not downloading music, but that doesn't mean that my computer is safe from this proposed act of government sanctioned vandalism. I do rip music from purchased CDs to make mixes. If the vandals decide my legal rips are illegal downloads and destroy my computer, there will be hell to pay. I have the technical skill to do the forensic analyis to expose how the computer was damaged. I wouldn't hesitate starting a crusade to crucify the RIAA for any and all damage caused by their vandalism.
BTW, I have a room full of computers with various operating systems. The loss of one of them would only provide the catalyst and evidence to go after the vandals.
Hatch: Set us up the bomb!
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