Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
Could you explain how this fine thing should come to be?
I am having a hard time understanding how the government could catch unauthorized downloaders without bigger civil liberties concerns than when businesses do it, but maybe I am missing something.
No one that I know of thinks the "proper authorities" should be spending tax dollars catching shoplifters. Instead, this is the responsibility of the retail industry. Then the store (possibly working with a video surveillance firm or other consultant) decides whether an internal sanction, such as calling parents or forbidding someone from the premises is sufficient, or if they are going to call the police. I don't see why it would be different with digital scofflaws.
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Hmmm...some solid points Steve, you are making me think here. Perhaps neither the government nor any private entity like this Brien vigilante outfit should be able to enforce copyright in such a manner, the civil liberties concerns being too great. As Katsunami pointed out already, in the digital realm the possibilities for potential abuses and/or erroneous accusations is nearly endless.
I do support that content creators and/or retailers should have some means to protect their wares and not have to sit back and be totally at the mercy of unauthorized downloaders/uploaders. But I feel that above all, personal privacy and civil liberties of the individual must be guarded from unnecessary intrusion, and there must be due process. It's a thorny issue, with no easy answers, no doubt about it.
I know one thing, Brien's scheme as described, of demanding compliance from retailers to cough up their customer's personal info upon demand OR ELSE, is utterly repugnant to me personally, and in my humble opinion they shouldn't be allowed to do it.