Too Far!

As we can see in section 5.5.6 of the Lessig reading, the law has been after those who circumvent or enable piracy/copyright infringement like a dog (but not an Aibo, they can't be reprogrammed to do that- it's illegal!). This is going way too far in my opinion, has been for years, and only seems to be getting worse.

Some more current examples are from Apple and Sony. In Apple's case, they will completely void any warranty you have on your product if they find it hacked, jailbroken, or tinkered with using any 3rd party application. That screen you broke when you dropped it off the Millennium Force while it was still under warranty?-Too bad, you installed a 3rd party hack that let you change your phone's background and you could have installed something to say, pirate media, therefore you must be punished or in this case neglected. Even when the hardware failure is their fault, i.e. not an accident, but a factory flaw- they are suddenly not obligated to reimburse you for it because of your software use.

On behalf of Sony's failings, they are currently in a legal battle with a hacker known as GeoHot known for hacking both the iPhone as well as the PS3. After years of being on the market, GeoHot was the first to finally crack the security on the Play Station 3 system, which would open it up for any sort of modifications- emulation, a new OS, and anything else imaginable. While GeoHot never endorsed anything that could link him to encouraging piracy, the recent temporary restraining order (TRO) that Sony wished to impose on him regarding opening up the PlayStation's internal architecture has passed, effectively silencing him regarding anything dealing with Sony, hacking, or even encouraging others to jailbreak their hardware- regardless of their intent.

Unfortunately, whether you are exploring the workings of your bought and paid for devices for evil means or not, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act sides with the corporations who provide and produce the hardware and software you own. Unfortunately, this limits the idea of fair use for the things we buy, as well as free expression for how we use them. So, all in all, the law goes way too far in this regard- punishing the genius people who don't pirate, steal, or even endorse the idea, but only want to learn about and push the limits of our hardware and technology.

(The image for this post is an accidental re-tweet by Sony's publicity guy that contains the encryption key for the PS3. Apparently, he wasn't quite sure what it meant but responded anyway...)