Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far

[Cid Highwind]

Story can be found here.

This really makes me feel glad I don't listen to any music being published by Sony, seeing it installs stuff worse than spyware on my computer.

There's a few interesting posts underneath the blog, I'll quote a few.

INAL, but this appears to be illegal in the State of California, punishable by a $1000 fine per computer affected.

California Business & Protections Code Section 22947.3, Paragraph C:

A person or entity that is not an authorized user, as defined in Section 22947.1, shall not, with actual knowledge, with conscious avoidance of actual knowledge, or willfully, cause computer software to be copied onto the computer of a consumer in this state and use the software to do any of the following:
...
(c) Prevent, without the authorization of an authorized user, an authorized user's reasonable efforts to block the installation of, or to disable, software, by doing any of the following:
(1) Presenting the authorized user with an option to decline
installation of software with knowledge that, when the option is
selected by the authorized user, the installation nevertheless proceeds.
(2) Falsely representing that software has been disabled.

This is some horribly written legislation (difficult to parse), but it appears that you must be able to specifically decline to install software (regardless of EULA conditions).

Hi,

If this is a British company, or one which operates from the UK then they may have fallen foul of UK law, specifically the Computer Misuse Act 1990 as follows:

"3.-(1) A person is guilty of an offence if-
he does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer; and
at the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above the requisite intent is an intent to cause a modification of the contents of any computer and by so doing-
to impair the operation of any computer;
to prevent or hinder access to any program or data held in any computer; or
to impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data.

(3) The intent need not be directed at-
any particular computer;
any particular program or data or a program or data of any particular kind; or
any particular modification or a modification of any particular kind.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above the requisite knowledge is knowledge that any modification he intends to cause is unauthorised.
(5) It is immaterial for the purposes of this section whether an unauthorised modification or any intended effect of it of a kind mentioned in subsection (2) above is, or is intended to be, permanent or merely temporary.
"

It would seems that this law would apply to any UK citizen who's PC was affected by this software. It would be interesting to see what the consiquences of this would be for the company in question.

Kind Regards

Simon

[Snake785]

Oh well, if I want to copy the music off a copy protected CD, I'll just rip it from a CD player that's connected to my computer via line in. With high quality cables, I can still get good quality. DRM can go to hell.

[D.D.]

Senseless Story Teller Sony

¬___¬

[Proto]

Can we blame this one on videogames?


... now seriosuly, after reading the editorial and the commentaries, it is clear that while most of this is fault of greedy companies steeping over our rights, it is also true that the rest is our fault for having some unsafe user practices...

[Player-X]

I wonder when will they understand that copyprotection dosn't prevent piracy, the hardcore pirates will have already found a way to get around it while actual customers get screwed by it, I wonder will the next step for copyprotection be copyprotection that stops you from playing competitors cds or laws that requires ear implants that somehow stop you from hearing thier music or anything at all unless you pay them lots of money

[doggieiscool]

heh I agree Player-X. I find the DRM annoying to say the least, why cant we go back a few years when no one gave a crap about sharing music

[Proto]

Well.... you have to comprehend the other side, they are trying to make their living

[Talbain]

And they wonder why the music industry is going belly-up...

[Player-X]

I forgot to mention that copyprotection is going to make more pirates not reduce it, when DRM gets in the way of user enloyment it will drive people to piracy just like the case with a few starforce protected games where they are concerned about piracy so they implemented starforce and screwed a few people out and made them pirate the game, besides developing and implementing copyprotection and therefore will either jack the price up or lower the quality of a product due to the additional money needed to develop or license the copyprotection scheme

[doggieiscool]

either way, nothing is going to change. if they stop, then they still lose money. If they dont and keep making protections of sorts, encourage like Player-x, the pirates to work harder to get it out there, still losing money but more people get employed to try to make a protection stick that works. depends how you look at it i guess.

[cowfez]

I would like to see some data showing these companies are not profit(eer)ing in the hundreds of millions ANYWAY, then we can talk about these poor corporations trying to make a living.

[Player-X]

The future......

[_mr_m_]

Snake785:

if I want to copy the music off a copy protected CD, I'll just rip it from a CD player that's connected to my computer via line in. With high quality cables, I can still get good quality.

thats how i pull it off!
besides, decent cables arent frightfully expensive these days.

Player-X has excellent points on piracy. once a new security measure comes out, hackers take on the challenge to BREAK that protection, which after a bit of time THEY DO! any piece of computer code can be reversed, regardless of the security.

bottom line: piracy cannot be stopped. piracy can only be inspired more by making more copy protection measures

[Player-X]

piracy cannot be stopped. piracy can only be inspired more by making more copy protection measures

On the other hand you can stop piracy by making your crap so good that people actuaily want to buy them

[D.D.]

On the other hand you can stop piracy by making your crap so good that people actuaily want to buy them

how very, very, very true. congrats. ^^

[F-3582]

Originally Posted by D.D.

how very, very, very true. congrats. ^^

Well, I have a few copy-protected audio CDs and all of them have one thing in common:

I can play them in Winamp easily, yes, even my Windows Media Player has no problems with them. Only my Stereo won't play them...

[Player-X]

Well, I have a few copy-protected audio CDs and all of them have one thing in common:

I can play them in Winamp easily, yes, even my Windows Media Player has no problems with them. Only my Stereo won't play them...

How ironic that music CDs that were ment to be played in a stereo system dosn't work in a stereo system

[Talbain]

Originally Posted by Player-X

On the other hand you can stop piracy by making your crap so good that people actuaily want to buy them

A revolutionary concept!

[Hard core Rikki]

you could try this too:
Whenever you see CONTENT/CD Protected, steer right away or look for uncrippled versions of the same stuff.
Boycott the right way: say NO to "value-substracted" media discs.

www.boycott-riaa.com more info on similar practices
http://openmusic.linuxtag.org/module...ent/openmusic/
Free music for a Free world. Fair Use all the way

[Jldnr77]

Originally Posted by Snake785

Oh well, if I want to copy the music off a copy protected CD, I'll just rip it from a CD player that's connected to my computer via line in. With high quality cables, I can still get good quality. DRM can go to hell.

Maybe not for too much longer:

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/18603