“Symantec Corp. has asked a Massachusetts Internet service
provider to remove links to a list of Web sites blocked by
Symantec’s I-Gear Internet filtering software, as well as to a
program that decrypts the list. Symantec charges that the
information is protected by copyright and trade-secret laws.”
“Peacefire, the group that posted the links on its Web site,
contends that the links reveal a tool with a high error rate that
violates users’ privacy.”
“Symantec’s efforts to yank the links reflect a strategy some
companies are using to prevent the distribution of information they
consider damaging or illegal, or to ban software created by reverse
engineering their products. In December, the Motion Picture
Association of America invoked the ‘anti-circumvention’ provisions
of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when it sued 72 Web-site
operators for posting an ‘unauthorized’ Linux playback utility for
DVDs.”