RIAA or Overpeer Seeding P2P Files with Spyware?
Techdirt first reported on this story last week and now Ben Edelman has tested a WindowsMedia video file and found that his "computer quickly became contaminated with the most spyware programs I have ever received in a single sitting."
If this is true, then its possible they have violated 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(5).
Professor Felten says:
May 5, 2003: Will the Music Industry Use Illegal Measures to Counteract Piracy? In Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy, (NYT May 4, 2003) Mr. Sorkin tells us that the record companies "are quietly financing the development and testing of software programs that would sabotage the computers and Internet connections of people who download pirated music ... which may never be carried out because they could be illegal under state and federal wiretap laws."
The technological approaches being developed include a Trojan horse that redirects users to Web sites where they can legitimately buy the song they tried to download; DOS attacks; the "freeze" program that locks up the computer system for a certain duration; and the "silence" program that scans a computer's hard drive for pirated music files and attempts to delete them, which in testing deletes legitimate music files as well.
Also, Professor Lessig is quoted as saying that "Freezing people's computers is not within the scope of the copyright laws."
If this is true, then its possible they have violated 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(5).
Professor Felten says:
All of this is speculation, of course. We don't know for sure who did or didn't participate in the files' release. But it's hard to see a scenario that makes both Overpeer and the record industry look good. There's a nice investigative reporting opportunity here.
May 5, 2003: Will the Music Industry Use Illegal Measures to Counteract Piracy? In Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy, (NYT May 4, 2003) Mr. Sorkin tells us that the record companies "are quietly financing the development and testing of software programs that would sabotage the computers and Internet connections of people who download pirated music ... which may never be carried out because they could be illegal under state and federal wiretap laws."
The technological approaches being developed include a Trojan horse that redirects users to Web sites where they can legitimately buy the song they tried to download; DOS attacks; the "freeze" program that locks up the computer system for a certain duration; and the "silence" program that scans a computer's hard drive for pirated music files and attempts to delete them, which in testing deletes legitimate music files as well.
Also, Professor Lessig is quoted as saying that "Freezing people's computers is not within the scope of the copyright laws."
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