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Post by [}{]xProvidence* on Feb 5, 2011 20:22:33 GMT 10
The lawsuit brought by Sony against hacking group Fail0verflow and George “GeoHot” Hotz is the most recent in a series of legal actions by electronics manufacturers in an attempt to control the way in which an end user can utilize a product. In a new commentary, the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) explains why this latest lawsuit filed by Sony sends a “dangerous message” and could have some serious repercussions for consumers in the future if the company gets what they’re asking for.
EFF representatives Corynne McSherry and Marcia Hofmann point out why Sony’s lawsuit against Fail0verflow and Hotz embodies the very issues the organization has been trying to warn citizens about for years: that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) could be misconstrued to silence the publication of research and that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) could be “abused” to make contract violations into criminal actions.
“These two things are precisely what’s happening in Sony v. Hotz,” McSherry and Hofmann claim. “The security flaws discovered by the researchers allow users to run Linux on their machines again — something Sony used to support but recently started trying to prevent. Paying lawyers to try to put the cat back in the bag is just throwing good money after bad. And even if they won — we’ll save the legal analysis for another post — the defendants seem unlikely to be able to pay significant damages. So what’s the point?”
We are currently living in a time where consumer’s rights in regards to the digital products they own are just being established. Corporations like Sony are going to try to gain as much ground as they can, but it is on the shoulders of the consumers to fight back and let them know that we will not stand for being told what we can and cannot do with our purchased products in the privacy of our own homes.
The story TL;DR form
IRONY: If they never removed linux support, none of this would happened.
EFF representatives Corynne McSherry and Marcia Hofmann point out why Sony’s lawsuit against Fail0verflow and Hotz embodies the very issues the organization has been trying to warn citizens about for years: that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) could be misconstrued to silence the publication of research and that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) could be “abused” to make contract violations into criminal actions.
“These two things are precisely what’s happening in Sony v. Hotz,” McSherry and Hofmann claim. “The security flaws discovered by the researchers allow users to run Linux on their machines again — something Sony used to support but recently started trying to prevent. Paying lawyers to try to put the cat back in the bag is just throwing good money after bad. And even if they won — we’ll save the legal analysis for another post — the defendants seem unlikely to be able to pay significant damages. So what’s the point?”
We are currently living in a time where consumer’s rights in regards to the digital products they own are just being established. Corporations like Sony are going to try to gain as much ground as they can, but it is on the shoulders of the consumers to fight back and let them know that we will not stand for being told what we can and cannot do with our purchased products in the privacy of our own homes.
The story TL;DR form
- Sony removes linux support
- Sony doesn't realise that pissing off people that use linux on their console is one of the worst people they can piss off
- Hackers attempt to get linux while doing so find "keys" needed to unlock the PS3 fully
- Playing from backups becomes a viable option now
IRONY: If they never removed linux support, none of this would happened.
