Music industry watch

Distrusted computing hits college campuses

C-NET writes about the Automated Copyright Notice System that Movie studios, record labels and technology companies have been testing:

Known as the Automated Copyright Notice System (ACNS), the technology promises to make copyright enforcement easier on peer-to-peer networks, saving schools and Internet service providers (ISPs) time and money. ACNS allows them to automatically restrict or cut off Internet access for alleged infringers on notice from a record label or movie studio. For example, universities using ACNS could instantly send notices of copyright infringement to students by e-mail and restrict their network access until they have removed the file.

I can't wait to see the unintended consequences of this project. Just wait until some student can't finish their work because the system accidentally shut off their access to campus computing resources. Just wait until Daddy-the-bigshot-lawyer hears about this! UCLA and co will get their collective butts sued in no time flat.

Enforcement systems like this are not up to snuff -- Napster proved this and I don't think that systems like AudibleMagic CopyNonsense are going to work either. There are a few things these systems will accomplish:

• They will pull money out of compuses that should be spent educating students and stash it in the coffers of the RIAA/MPAA companies.
• They will prevent students from going about their legitimate business.
• They will not prevent students from sharing copyrighted files.
• They will turn students who were burned by these systems into staunch music industry opponents, when the media companies expect them to spend wads of cash on music after graduation.

The only positive thing I see is that some students will learn a lot when they develop counter measure software that will trip up these automatic detectors. Just a few students is all it will take to throw so much noise into the system that the system starts acting erraticly and restricts legitimate access. Not much after that and the systems will be thrown out altogether, leaving the universities poorer and more disgruntled towards the RIAA/MPAA.

Posted by Mayhem at April 20, 2004 11:51 AM