Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

More than that, it prohibits you from telling someone how to circumvent DRM, even if the purpose of doing so is just to, say, watch a movie they legally purchased on the device of your choice.


Banning secret numbers is dumb, but it's also the part of the law which is the most completely ineffective. Do you think you can find a copy of DeCSS on the internet? Of course you can.

The actual problem is the fair use problem, because it prevents you from e.g. creating a third party Netflix or Twitter client without the corporation's approval. Which in turn forces you to use their app and puts them in control of recommendations, keeps you within a walled garden instead of exposing you to other voices, etc. It's a mechanism to monopolize the marketplace of ideas.

Of course, Apple et al have turned this against the creators in order to extract their vig, which is a related problem.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: