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I came here with the same quote copied to my clipboard to say pretty much this. The idea that the incompetence of paywall implementers should be patched up by
by tekacs 13y ago
I came here with the same quote copied to my clipboard to say pretty much this.
The idea that the incompetence of paywall implementers should be patched up by the law and consideration of clients' intent is worrying at best and honestly closer to insane.
If paywalls are implemented by covering page content with a white rectangle, will viewing source be considered unauthorised access?
If they are implemented by putting a large notice prohibiting unauthorised users from scrolling down, will such a notice stand up?
In both of these cases, the intent of the user viewing the content is clearly to bypass protection mechanisms that were put in place, but if such protections are implemented so incompetently, the burden (as it seems to be in real life, w.r.t. trespassing and similar laws) could well fall upon the consumer.
My suggestions get closer and closer to hyperbole but from a technical standpoint some of these 'protections' are scarcely distinguishable from some of the simple, meaningless protection schemes that have already been enough to trigger unauthorised access laws. :/
- BrandonMarc 13y agoI think there's a legal doctrine along the lines of "open door" or "unenforced property", wherein if a person does not put up a minimum standard of defense of their property, there are limitations to what legal protection they have against trespassing and theft. For example, if I leave my house with the doors wide open, all the time, I think the doctrine means I can't accuse people of breaking in if they simply walk in ... especially if they do so repeatedly without me doing anything to stop it. Similar if my property has no fence, gate, locks, etc and people are in the habit of walking across it - and I haven't taken ordinary measures to stop them - then I can't accuse people of trespassing. The examples are not great, and I don't recall what it's called ... but I believe there's a legal doctrine along those lines. Oh, and, IANAL.
- pessimizer 13y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev
- dave1010uk 13y ago> If paywalls are implemented by covering page content with a white rectangle, will viewing source be considered unauthorised access? Viewing source in this case seems like it's bypassing DRM, which I believe is illegal under the DMCA in the USA.