The Standard: Cyberspace Prosecutor

“Before the courts race to join the content control freaks’
chorus, they should pause to consider our national
tradition.”

“Jack Valenti, the Motion Picture Association of America’s
lobbyist to the stars, is quickly becoming the Internet’s Kenneth
Starr. High from victory in jailing a 16-year-old Norwegian for
offering a way to run DVD movies on Linux, Valenti has been singing
victory again in the recent battle over iCraveTV.com, a company of
‘cyberthieves’ that was rebroadcasting television programs over the
Net.”

“The battle over iCraveTV is just one in a series that together
will define the future of the Internet. In every context that it
can, the entertainment industry is trying to force the Internet
into its own business model – the perfect control of content.
From music (fighting MP3) and film (fighting the portability of
DVD) to television, the industry is resisting the Net’s original
design. It was about the free flow of content; Hollywood wants
perfect control instead.

No doubt ‘thieves’ should be punished and content should not be
‘stolen.’ But ‘theft’ is defined relative to the law and the First
Amendment, not to an ideal of perfect control. And when the law
grants a right to speech, that right is ordinarily defended even if
control over that speech is not perfect. But according to the MPAA,
until iCraveTV can ‘guarantee’ that no hacker can crack its
security system, iCraveTV should be enjoined from giving Canadians
access to desktop TV.”

Complete
Story