7 ms·

The DMCA has helped me get knock off websites taken down that consist of nothing but one of my blog posts copy-pasted. I had a very high traffic blog article c

The DMCA has helped me get knock off websites taken down that consist of nothing but one of my blog posts copy-pasted. I had a very high traffic blog article copied about a half dozen times with domain names purchased JUST to post the article and replace all the Amazon affiliate tags and advertisements with their own. Had it not been for the DMCA, I'm not sure what I could have done. But for exactly $0 and 5 minutes of my time, I was able to email their host and the content was taken down in less than a few hours.

VonGuard 14y ago
Agreed. I actually protested the DCMA when it was originally created, but then, 7 years alter, I was threatened with a suit because a commenter on my Website had written ugly things about someone. As a common carrier, I was safe thanks to the DMCA. The EFF actually told me the DMCA saved my butt. Weird, huh?
- AnthonyMouse 14y ago
  The EFF told you that the DMCA protected you from a defamation claim?
kunai 14y ago
Doesn't matter. The negatives of the DMCA greatly outweigh the positives. Why should I not be able to hack my OWN tablet? Why can't I unlock my OWN phone? Why is it that the government exercises near-dictatorial control over digital rights? Sure, it does help with copyright issues, but there's a ton of things in there that have nothing to do with copyright, like the law against jailbreaking tablets. The point is, the DMCA exists for a good reason, but it was written by people who know nothing about how digital media works while they were in bed with the RIAA and MPAA. It can be revised to eliminate the freedom-limiting aspects while still preserving the good portions of the law.
- bsimpson 14y ago
  All the laws about things that tend to be only well-understood by the younger half of the population tend to be written by representatives from the older half. I'm sure there are politicians who don't know how to check their own e-mail, but who have strong opinions on DMCA-esque legislation because they think piracy === theft and overbearing laws like the DMCA are the only way to prevent theft 2.0. You have to be immersed in technology to understand the nuanced implications of technology law, and most of our representatives have not spent their lives immersed in technology like most of us have.

VonGuard 14y ago

Agreed. I actually protested the DCMA when it was originally created, but then, 7 years alter, I was threatened with a suit because a commenter on my Website had written ugly things about someone. As a common carrier, I was safe thanks to the DMCA. The EFF actually told me the DMCA saved my butt. Weird, huh?

AnthonyMouse 14y ago
The EFF told you that the DMCA protected you from a defamation claim?

kunai 14y ago

Doesn't matter. The negatives of the DMCA greatly outweigh the positives. Why should I not be able to hack my OWN tablet? Why can't I unlock my OWN phone? Why is it that the government exercises near-dictatorial control over digital rights? Sure, it does help with copyright issues, but there's a ton of things in there that have nothing to do with copyright, like the law against jailbreaking tablets. The point is, the DMCA exists for a good reason, but it was written by people who know nothing about how digital media works while they were in bed with the RIAA and MPAA. It can be revised to eliminate the freedom-limiting aspects while still preserving the good portions of the law.

bsimpson 14y ago
All the laws about things that tend to be only well-understood by the younger half of the population tend to be written by representatives from the older half. I'm sure there are politicians who don't know how to check their own e-mail, but who have strong opinions on DMCA-esque legislation because they think piracy === theft and overbearing laws like the DMCA are the only way to prevent theft 2.0. You have to be immersed in technology to understand the nuanced implications of technology law, and most of our representatives have not spent their lives immersed in technology like most of us have.