California P2P file sharers:Ahnold wants your E-mail address

[Roundabout]

More ridiculous legislation passed in Sacramento by our erstwhile "gubernator" a few days ago:

Governor signs Internet piracy bill
E-mail address required to share movies, music online

Sacramento -- Aiding the industry that helped him gain worldwide fame, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday aimed at discouraging online piracy by requiring anyone disseminating movies or music on the Internet to disclose their e-mail address.

California file sharers who trade songs or films without providing an e- mail address will be guilty of a misdemeanor, under the first-in-the-nation measure that could make it easier for law enforcement to track down people who illegally download copyrighted material.

The bill is the latest attempt by film and music trade associations to combat the hard-to-police use of file-sharing software.

The signing was hailed by the bill's sponsor, the Motion Picture Association of America, whose president, Dan Glickman, noted in a statement that Schwarzenegger had "a unique understanding of the powerful impact of piracy.''

The governor remains a member of the Screen Actors Guild, which supported the bill.

Complete story here: LINK

[bazooka]

Oh well.

I am still waiting for a compulsory license.

[Gillies]

wouldnt u just put in a fake email anyway

[overloaded_ide]

I only use Yahoo.com e-mail now, how is that gonna track anything?

Ok, I can see all the P2P networks setting up e-mail servers now for their users just like getting a Yahoo or Netscape e-mail.

I'm sure it will be fought on several grounds and lose. Violation of privacy is one I can see. Looking on the bright side, maybe it will stop some of the virus garbage too, after all I download a file from you and it has a virus that ruins my system I can track you down with your e-mail and punch your lights out now

[BobK]

It will also provide another source of email address for spam-senders.

[JohnnyCNote]

What's to prevent someone from using false address?

[jimmalenko]

I can see it now ...

... in an unrelated incident, Californian use of hotmail explodes...

[spiderman2k1]

Nice little program to hide IP address http://www.steganos.com/

[Roundabout]

More on this today from Wired:

Law Sends Sharers to Slammer

02:00 AM Sep. 28, 2004 PT

A new anti-piracy bill in California gives law enforcement another tool to crack down on copyright infringement, but critics say it will only divert resources away from fighting more important crimes.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill last week requiring file swappers to provide a legitimate e-mail address when they share music or movies online, or be charged with a misdemeanor. The law goes into effect in January.

The Motion Picture Association of America sponsored the bill, introduced by state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles), which updates a state law that requires names and addresses of DVD, CD and video manufacturers to be printed on the items in an effort to prevent counterfeit goods.

"We took that model and concept and translated it to the electronic and digital world," said Vans Stevenson, senior vice president of state legislative affairs for the MPAA. "It's another tool to go after counterfeiters and thieves on the internet."

Murray did not return calls seeking comment.

Now, any Californian who shares files with more than 10 people must add their e-mail address to the file. Those who break this law could be fined up to $2,500, spend a year in jail or both. Minors who break the law would pay $250 for their first and second offenses.

Stevenson said that the MPAA plans to use this legislation as a model for other states.

Critics said the law is a tricky way for copyright owners to get at file swappers. People are not targeted for copyright violations, rather, they are nabbed for not adding their e-mail to a shared file.

"No one believes that it's a crime to leave your e-mail address off of a file you're sharing," said Jason Schultz, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "It's a means to an end to get around the limits of federal copyright law and give state prosecutors leverage to bust people. Now they are going to be arresting people for forgetting to list their e-mail address."

Sarah Deutsch, associate general counsel for Verizon Communications, which opposed the legislation, said the law could threaten anonymous communication on the internet.

"There are many ways to be anonymous on the internet that have nothing to do with copyright," she said. "I would not want my children putting (their e-mail) on every communication."

It also diverts resources away from more pressing problems, like violent crime.

"There's no need to create state criminal liability for copyright infringement," said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "I suspect that California taxpayers would rather see their criminal justice authorities used to fight violent crime and terrorism rather than this sort of effort."

Cohn said that few file sharers provide their e-mail addresses now and she doubted that people would do so in the future.

Still, the bill that passed was an improvement over earlier legislation which would have required file sharers to attach their name and home address to files, which caused concern among privacy advocates, Cohn said. She also said it was good that the legislators drew a line between penalties for adults and minors.

Schwarzenegger has taken other action on peer-to-peer networking. A few weeks ago, he signed an executive order to develop a policy governing the use of file-sharing software by all state employees.

[BobK]

> which updates a state law that requires names and addresses of DVD, CD and video manufacturers to be printed on the items in an effort to prevent counterfeit goods.

Anybody know how that's worked? They really think a counterfeiter could duplicate a DVD and label but couldn't figure out how to put the name and address of some manufacturer on there?

[bazooka]

It is so pathetic that the governing bodies spend vast amounts of time and taxpayers money coming up with junk laws like this.

And yet you still have murders which would be more important than filesharing.

[BJ_M]

i guess every company that has a web site or a ftp site for public use , and that has video clips, shockwave file, sound clips or the like will also have to put their e-mail into everything ... there really is no difference ..

It says "provide a legitimate e-mail address" , where does it say it has to be YOUR email address ? Maybe use the terminator email address.


With the huge number of open wireless connections available everywhere -- it is kinda a stupid point anyway ..... there is a hotel not far from me that i could connect to anytime - if i wanted to, as an example ..

[Roundabout]

If anyone cares to read or analyze it (Adam?) here is the link to the entire text of this bill (SB 1506):

LINK

[ViRaL1]

i guess every company that has a web site or a ftp site for public use , and that has video clips, shockwave file, sound clips or the like will also have to put their e-mail into everything ... there really is no difference ..

It says "provide a legitimate e-mail address" , where does it say it has to be YOUR email address ? Maybe use the terminator email address.


With the huge number of open wireless connections available everywhere -- it is kinda a stupid point anyway ..... there is a hotel not far from me that i could connect to anytime - if i wanted to, as an example ..

It may get to a point where they'll try to force people to register their MAC address. If that happens, all hell is going to break loose.

And I'll be the first one to start.

[BobK]

> where does it say it has to be YOUR email address ?

That would be in Section 1 where it says "without disclosing his or her e-mail address"

[BJ_M]

what if you are a he/she ?

[jimmalenko]

A shim ?

[ViRaL1]

What if I renounce all my addys?

[painkiller]

What a sham(e).

It's too bad that the politicians think they are being constructive - when all they really do is force the average public - to become better than average.

Which really translates to - smarter than them.

If all elected politicians would just simply - do their jobs - instead of pandering to special interests - we just might become an even more powerful influence on this planet.

Maybe, just maybe, then we could become more productive.

[Jah_Rankin]

Even if one add a fake email your original IP tracks your usage time unto thier main servers. So good luck fellow Cali's

[indolikaa]

Say hello to Mr. Proxy.

[nufan292]

I can understand being able to use a proxy while surfing online, but I didn't think it was possible with p2p apps. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and please lead me to the right direction for more information.

And about the Steganos program, it uses proxies as well, if I'm not mistaken. Do they run their own proxy servers, or do they just get it free public lists?

[bazooka]

I can understand being able to use a proxy while surfing online, but I didn't think it was possible with p2p apps. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and please lead me to the right direction for more information.

And about the Steganos program, it uses proxies as well, if I'm not mistaken. Do they run their own proxy servers, or do they just get it free public lists?

Check out the Freenet Project created by Ian Clarke.

[jimmalenko]

I can understand being able to use a proxy while surfing online, but I didn't think it was possible with p2p apps. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and please lead me to the right direction for more information.

Looks possible.

[nufan292]

Oh ok, about the steganos program though, do they maintain their own proxy servers, or do they just gather the available free proxy lists from the web?

Has anyone actually tried using a proxy with azureus, and does it have to be a socks proxy?