At the State of the Net conference on January 30, Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), offered some remarkably candid opinions on how the music industry should cripple technology to ensure the sanctity of its copyrights. Here's a short summary of the points he makes in the video that follows (edited by Public Knowledge).
- Filtering the internet to prevent RIAA music from being shared is a good idea, partially because filters don't prevent the sharing of music by "garage bands" (his term for artists who are not signed to an RIAA label). In other words: Want to make money from your music? Sign to an RIAA label. Don't? Don't.
- Because end-to-end encryption between users would defeat ISP
filters, the RIAA needs to look at how to defeat encryption. Optionsfor this include adding the filters to applications the user alreadyuses (result: they won't install these apps) or somehow installingfilters on users' computers that can silence music after it has beendecrypted (result: total consumer revolt).
- Methods for installing these filters in such a way that theydefeat encryption include putting the filter on a modem, forcing ISPsto force users to install the filters, and possibly including them withantivirus software.
- "Fair use should not be the excuse that stops the development of technology."
- "We don't take a position on [the] legality" of the ripping of CDsfor personal use on an MP3 player, although the industry has not suedanyone for doing so. "That makes us the most permissive copyrightindustry."
It's really worth having a look for yourself:
