CITP Blog - Formerly Freedom to Tinker

Author: Ed Felten

  • RIAA Sues Students for Running "Napster-Like" Networks

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    The RIAA has announced the filing of lawsuits against four college students for allegedly running “Napster-like” networks. Two of the students are from RPI, one from Michigan Tech, and one from Princeton.

  • Godwin on the Digital TV Transition

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    In the April issue of Reason, Mike Godwin offers a clear description of the mess surrounding the digital-television transition, along with a provocative approach to resolving it.

  • Another Egregious Super-DMCA Provision

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    I have written before about the danger posed by the Super-DMCA’s ban on concealing the origin or destination of communication. I want to turn your attention now to a much more egregious provision of these bills – the ban on devices and information. Here is the relevant portion of the MPAA’s model legislative language: Any…

  • Reports from Today's Massachusetts Super-DMCA Hearing

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    A Massachusetts legislative committee held a hearing today about their super-DMCA bill. By all reports, the committee got the message loud and clear about the drawbacks of the bill. John Palfrey and Derek Slater were there and describe what happened.

  • ABA Group Tries to Understand WiFi

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    Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing discusses an amazing document in which an American Bar Association panel lays out their view of the future of WiFi. High-order cluelessness pervades.

  • MPAA Circulating Model Super-DMCA Legislation

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    The Super-DMCA bills are based on model legislation that has been circulated by the MPAA. I now have the text of the model legislation (Word format; PDF), along with a summary of it also circulated by MPAA (Word format; PDF). Predictably, the summary makes no mention of the ban on concealing message origin or destination.

  • Colorado Super-DMCA Delayed

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    The Colorado Senate’s consideration of their Super-DMCA bill, originally scheduled for yesterday, has now been deferred until April 7. There is some indication this may have been due to calls from constituents about the bill. In any case, the delay gives Colorado residents more time to contact their representatives and explain the problems with the…

  • Important New Internet Standard

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    Internet security guru Steve Bellovin proposed today an important new Internet standard, RFC 3514, which creates a new “evil bit” in Internet Protocol packet headers. The evil bit is required to be set in all malicious packets. RFC 3514 fully examines the ramifications of this innovative proposal, including a discussion of what existing systems must…

  • Super-DMCA Already Law in Several States

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    Louis Trager at the Washington Internet Daily reports that Super-DMCA bills have already passed in several states: The low-profile lobbying effort was under way about 2 years before it burst into the open in recent days. Legislation supported by MPAA was enacted in [Delaware] and [Maryland] in 2001 and in [Illinois], [Michigan] and [Virginia] last…

  • Intent and the Super-DMCAs

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    Most of the reponses to my super-DMCA postings have been supportive, but a few people have disagreed. Some of the disagreements say, essentially, that there is no problem, because the bills are intended as anti-piracy measures, to prevent people from using cable, phone, or wireless service without paying. (Let me put any doubts to rest…