Sony BMG farce: the plus side
p2p news / p2pnet: "The last two weeks have seen almost nonstop reporting about the Sony ‘rootkit’ debacle," writes Linspire’s Michael Robertson on his personal thoughts spot.
So, nothing loathe >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Five Reasons Why Sony Rootkit Is Good For You
By Michael Robertson- Linspire
If you haven’t been following the news, here’s what happened: More than 50 music CD titles sold by Sony/BMG secretly install deep into your computer in a hidden way using what Sony calls "cloaking" software, which is designed to prevent unauthorized copying while appearing to just be installing a simple CD player. This trojan horse is a serious violation of user trust and maybe even the law. (Remember, this happens to the people that paid them $15 or more for the CD!) But that’s just the beginning of this story. It turns out that the product is riddled with security holes, whereby others could potentially take over the infected computer (this is what’s called a "rootkit") and repeated attempts to remedy the situation have just made things worse. You can read the entire saga here, but be forewarned that it’s a torturous novel of corporate missteps.
Now, you may be wondering if you misread the title claiming this is "Good For You". Of course Sony’s tactics are despicable and if you’re one of the estimated 568,200 infected users, you should rightly be unhappy. But instead of piling on to the "Sony is bad" bandwagon, I’d like to look at the positives that will come from this event.
1) Sony breaks their MP3 boycott and sells MP3 files.
In an effort to make amends to affected customers, Sony is offering customers a replacement CD along with MP3 files. As far as I’m aware, this is the first time a major record label is making MP3 files available in conjunction with a CD purchase. All have distributed free tracks in MP3 format before, but none have made MP3 files part of a purchase. It makes NO sense to give away MP3 files, but not sell them. It makes no sense to insist, "We don’t sell unencrypted music" all the while selling CDs with the highest quality audio files, which can be converted to MP3s with a single mouse click using software from Apple, Microsoft and others. It makes no financial sense for a company to know that billions of MP3 files are swirling around the Internet each month but refuse to satisfy the demand with an MP3-stocked music store. I hope this is an indication that the music industry’s illogical religious boycott of MP3 is ending and being replaced with an economic analysis that will demonstrate that selling MP3s will increase revenues by helping the industry move beyond "every song for 99 cents."
2) Proof positive corporations can’t be trusted with control over your computer, your music or your property.
DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) software gives corporations control over the property you pay for AFTER you buy it. That’s dangerous because your personal interests and a corporations profit motives will eventually diverge. The hospital will lock you out of your own health records by using DRM to keep your business. Microsoft will use Palladium DRM in their eventually coming future operating system to make sure you have to buy their software.
Sony’s actions to secretly install software and cripple your computer to "protect" their music is one of the starkest illustrations to date of the actual harm consumers face in a DRM world. No longer can people say that those who warn of DRM scares are alarmists or conspiracy nuts. The risks are real and Sony drove that point home.
3) Industry officials say that CD buyers have the rights to make copies.
"Even the CDs with content protection allow consumers to burn 3 copies or so for personal use," is a quote from a speech by RIAA President Cary Sherman. Now, I hear you saying, "No duh!" But this is significant because the industry leaders have always been coy or downright reluctant to admit that CD owners can make copies. In a classic standoff, former RIAA leader Hilary Rosen refused to answer questions at a Senate Judiciary Committee I testified at when asked by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) if consumers had the right to copy their own CDs. If the industry agrees that consumers can make copies, then why not sell them a CD and put some tracks into a music locker for them? I bet consumers would even pay more for this!
4) People care about consumer rights.
A friend of mine from the MP3.com era, who now runs a company selling DRM technologies, called me up yesterday and said, "This Sony issue has got me thinking that nobody is looking out for the consumer here. I think we need to build a coalition of companies that will defend consumers rights and try to make all these DRM strategies work together." It’s terrific that he’s finally understanding what I’ve been talking to him about for 7 years! His approach to start a coalition to bring together all these corporations is a grand but unattainable vision. Apple isn’t working with anyone. Microsoft will pretend to work with someone, but ultimately will not. They will gladly sell out the consumer in an attempt to attain a monopoly. The media companies won’t play ball either.
The solution isn’t some cooked-up "Super DRM," but MP3, which is an open format that all software, hardware and service companies can and do support today. The remedy will come from the marketplace and it’s exactly why MP3tunes is doing Oboe! The entire MP3tunes company is working over Thanksgiving break to make it happen soon!
5) Sony ships anti-DRM software.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998, makes it a crime to produce or disseminate technology that can circumvent copyright security measures. Unbelievably, the software that Sony installs includes DeDRM which makes iTunes songs work on Linux computers. DeDRM was written by new MP3tunes employee Jon Lech Johansen ("DVD Jon"), who was sued twice in Norway for creating circumvention software. Having Sony shipping out hundreds of thousands of discs with DRM-circumvention code will be a good defense for the next person the industry attacks for releasing interoperability software.
– Michael
November 30th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Yes the big companies do all of this. They can release DRM circumvention software or anything else they want. However, when an individual does this, they will still be in trouble. Yes, and individual can use what the big companies do as a defense, and yes, eventually they may successfully defend themselves and not be successfully sued. But the individual has still lost. The individual has to still pay expenses for going to court, filing fees, time from work and for other things that would be insignificant for the cartels.
The fact that courts are not friendly or affordable for the average person means that the as usual, the average joe get it up the ….. What is needed is not minor victories, but a change of government. In theP.S.A., we need a government that obeys the Constitution, respects the law, and provides equal protection under law. That will not happen until people kick out most Democratic-Republican members of Congress and replace them with members from political parties that have not (yet) been corrupted by cartel money. If we keep flushing the toilet, we will eventually get rif of the shit.
November 30th, 2005 at 3:21 pm
BOYCOTT THE RIAA! BOYCOTT SONY!! DRM IS NOT THE ANSWER! IT ONLY PUNISHES PAYING CUSTOMERS!
November 30th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Just one small point. “estimated 568,200 infected users” is wrong. Read the link and it’s 568,200 *DNS Servers* that have one or more infected computers that use them.
November 30th, 2005 at 6:06 pm
6> Allows you to hide cheat programs for your favorite online games!
December 1st, 2005 at 1:23 am
In a capitalist world like ours (We aren’t communists, aren’t we ?), the best product should win the market. The best product in the consumer’s eye, of course.
What does the consummer want ? DRM crippled music or music in a standard that will allow him to play his legally bought tracks anywhere he wants ? Obviously the 2nd option.
I’ve asked some people in town who buy online music on iTunes alike stores. No one of them even KNEW what a DRM was, and once I told them, they were astonished (and all of them said they’ll stop buying DRM criplled stuff).
So the consumer’s lack of information is obviously the industry’s best ally to impose DRM stuff everywhere it can. Thanks to this Sony rootkit story, DRM can now much easierly be MEDIATISED. And I think that’s what we all should do in our contries : Inform the consumers about DRMs and how evil it is. Now that we have a clear case, it’s no sci-fi anymore.
Get mass-media coverage on this issue is an aim we all should seek. All around the world.
Don’t forget : Mediatisation leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to power. It’s time to get the power in the people’s hands again, by informing all those who do not know what a DRM is. Spread the word !
December 2nd, 2005 at 5:34 pm
“In a capitalist world like ours (We aren’t communists, aren’t we ?), the best product should win the market.”
The Recorded Music industry does not exist within a free market capitalist context. In a free market context the content (the recorded music) would be un-tied to the distribution format (the format of the physical media, or the encoding of communication by telecommunications). The decision that you like a certain musician should not be tied to being forced to use specific technologies in order to enjoy that music.
On top of the tie between content and distribution technology, we also have Payola and various illegal schemes to control commercial radio airplay and retail shelf space to the benefit of the existing cartels.
In Canada we have Section 77 of our competition act that speaks of Tied Selling and Refusal to deal. Read these sections thinking about the anti-competitive recording industry and you’ll see what I mean. If we are to claim that we live in a free market capitalist world we need to fight to ensure that all marketplaces, including for markets of intangibles such as music, movies, and software actually exist within a free market.
December 3rd, 2005 at 1:34 am
I’ve been following this story, and the calls for a boycott of Sony products, for a while. I had to buy a few pairs of headphones recently and avoided Sony (not easy, they make up about 90% of the headphone aisle) because of their behavior.
I take this very seriously. Sony, and other companies, need to realize that to a heavy computer user, a computer is like a 2nd brain. Any attempt to compromise it’s capabilities or security, or to covertly collect information from it is absolutely unacceptable.