5 ms·

A gem in the EFF's letter (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/11/2020-11-16-RIAA-reversal-effletter.pdf https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/

A gem in the EFF's letter (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/11/2020-11-16-RIAA-reversal-effletter.pdf https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/11/2020-11-1...) > To borrow an analogy from literature, travelers come upon a door that has writing in a foreign language. When translated, the writing says "say 'friend' and enter." The travelers say "friend" and the door opens. As with the writing on that door, YouTube presents instructions on accessing video streams to everyone who comes asking for it.

hunter2_ 6y ago
I personally agree, but there are some interesting counter-examples. For example, if someone discloses the credentials to an account but says nobody is authorized to use those credentials, I think it violates the CFAA to use those credentials. Even more-so if they only tell you their username, but the password can be inferred without direct disclosure (e.g., if the username is "thepasswordishunter2").
- kmeisthax 6y ago
  CFAA covers unauthorized access to computer systems - the only case I know of where CFAA was used to prosecute something akin to a DMCA 1201 claim was Sony suing Geohot for putting a tweezer to the RAM on his PS3. It's a novel legal strategy (in case you don't think DMCA 1201 is broad enough), but it was never entirely litigated in court as Geohot settled the case. I still don't think it would have passed muster in court, as it was akin to arguing that someone had violated the CFAA by hacking into their own computer that they forgot the password to. (Either that, or Geohot was poking at PSN and Sony knew this - I never followed that particular case thoroughly)
  - 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
    It's been a while since I've read about it, and I'm not a lawyer, but my recollection is that geohot said he deliberately kept his PS3 offline once it was compromised, and Sony's counterargument was (in effect, via some truly mind-bending equivocation) that geohot compromised the PS3 (the abstract computer for which authorization presumably proceeds from Sony) as opposed to his PS3 (the specific computer for which authorization presumably proceeds from geohot). Since the PS3 interacts with PSN, geohot had thereby gained unauthorized access to a computer used in interstate and foreign commerce. It's one of those arguments for which I have a hard time deciding whether it's fiendishly clever, gratuitously obfuscated, or jaw-droppingly stupid.
ComputerGuru 6y ago
For those that haven’t experienced the joy of Tolkien’s writing, this is a reference to the Elvish inscription on the Doors of Durin in The Fellowship of the Ring, that is simultaneously a riddle and literal instructions on entering.
- vdfs 6y ago
  Is it accurate to say more than 90% of HN readers have seen that movie?
  - ComputerGuru 6y ago
    What movie? I think you mean, “read the book.”
    - clarkdale 6y ago
      Not OP, but I think he was referring to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)[0] which grossed $887.9 million and won 4 Academy awards[1]. [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/ [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fel...
      - scubbo 6y ago
        Bravo :)
      - dragonwriter 6y ago
        > Not OP, but I think he was referring to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) OP referenced "over 90% of HN readers", who are notoriously out-of-the-mainstream nerds[0], so he probably was referring to The Lord of the Rings (1978) [1] which grossed $33.7 million (which seems a lot less than the 2001 film, but is pretty similar as a multiplier on its budget.) [0] https://www.example.com/what-you-thought-this-was-a-real-source.html https://www.example.com/what-you-thought-this-was-a-real-sou... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1978_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1978_fi...

hunter2_ 6y ago

I personally agree, but there are some interesting counter-examples. For example, if someone discloses the credentials to an account but says nobody is authorized to use those credentials, I think it violates the CFAA to use those credentials. Even more-so if they only tell you their username, but the password can be inferred without direct disclosure (e.g., if the username is "thepasswordishunter2").

kmeisthax 6y ago
CFAA covers unauthorized access to computer systems - the only case I know of where CFAA was used to prosecute something akin to a DMCA 1201 claim was Sony suing Geohot for putting a tweezer to the RAM on his PS3. It's a novel legal strategy (in case you don't think DMCA 1201 is broad enough), but it was never entirely litigated in court as Geohot settled the case. I still don't think it would have passed muster in court, as it was akin to arguing that someone had violated the CFAA by hacking into their own computer that they forgot the password to. (Either that, or Geohot was poking at PSN and Sony knew this - I never followed that particular case thoroughly)
- 0xcde4c3db 6y ago
  It's been a while since I've read about it, and I'm not a lawyer, but my recollection is that geohot said he deliberately kept his PS3 offline once it was compromised, and Sony's counterargument was (in effect, via some truly mind-bending equivocation) that geohot compromised the PS3 (the abstract computer for which authorization presumably proceeds from Sony) as opposed to his PS3 (the specific computer for which authorization presumably proceeds from geohot). Since the PS3 interacts with PSN, geohot had thereby gained unauthorized access to a computer used in interstate and foreign commerce. It's one of those arguments for which I have a hard time deciding whether it's fiendishly clever, gratuitously obfuscated, or jaw-droppingly stupid.

ComputerGuru 6y ago

For those that haven’t experienced the joy of Tolkien’s writing, this is a reference to the Elvish inscription on the Doors of Durin in The Fellowship of the Ring, that is simultaneously a riddle and literal instructions on entering.

vdfs 6y ago
Is it accurate to say more than 90% of HN readers have seen that movie?
- ComputerGuru 6y ago
  What movie? I think you mean, “read the book.”
  - clarkdale 6y ago
    Not OP, but I think he was referring to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)[0] which grossed $887.9 million and won 4 Academy awards[1]. [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/ [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fel...
    - scubbo 6y ago
      Bravo :)
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      > Not OP, but I think he was referring to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) OP referenced "over 90% of HN readers", who are notoriously out-of-the-mainstream nerds[0], so he probably was referring to The Lord of the Rings (1978) [1] which grossed $33.7 million (which seems a lot less than the 2001 film, but is pretty similar as a multiplier on its budget.) [0] https://www.example.com/what-you-thought-this-was-a-real-source.html https://www.example.com/what-you-thought-this-was-a-real-sou... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1978_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(1978_fi...