Censorship, Corporations and Coercion

I have long been an opponent of the DMCA.

Primarily because of the fact that it makes illegal an activity that should be thanked instead of persecuted.

Namely, the act of deconstructing encryption schemes is now a crime that has netted quite a few “criminals.”

I am sympathetic to the needs of corporations to protect their intellectual properties, but if in the process of honest work and effort another organization or individual finds a method of weakness in another’s efforts, how is that criminal?

At worst, it is enforced quality control.

To what do we owe any allegiance to any product that, even after significant resources spent, fails under any amount of scrutiny?

Do we not pay for or have a right to expect quality?

If I buy a toy deemed suited for children and a child chokes on it and dies, do we not have a right to sue that company? Further, shouldn’t someone that discovers ahead of time such a disaster be rewarded instead of imprisoned?

Logically, of course, the answer is yes, we should encourage independent testing of any product, no matter the cost.

So why do we go against what is logical, natural and already established?

My mentor gave me all I needed to know when I was 18. He said, “When trying to figure out what happened, always follow the money.”

By that logic, who has the money and therefore has the most to lose? Corporations that invested heavily in weak encryption schemes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as pro-business as they come; however, I’m also for fair play.

These corporations spend millions lobbying to have laws passed that go against logical, natural and already established laws to protect their shaky products that can apparently be broken by teenagers.

They spend even more bullying sites to take down information that might threaten their product.

What consequences can this type of business practice hold for us? Is this something we can afford as a society in this post-911 world?

Today, they go one step further…

When, once again, their retarded encryption scheme was once again broken and the key leaked, the corporate machine without regard to laws they helped establish, sprung into action.

Now, as if the rules were being made up as they went along, they are using their bully pulpit to threaten our very freedom of speech by leaning on sites like DIGG and Google to take down the leaked key.

This key, the very symbol of our freedom, is threatened which only action and sacrifice can correct.

The corrupt law outlaws the act of deconstructing the encryption method, but it says nothing about its result…

So I urge you to exercise your right to speak out against the DMCA by passing on this key and whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself, vote for fairness over coercion.

Who knows, your life might depend on it.