[CrackMonkey] [macki@2600.com: [DeCSS] press release]

[Seth David Schoen]

This release misuses "facilitate" (assuming it doesn't intend to be
deceptive).

----- Forwarded message from Macki <macki at 2600.com> -----

Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 07:18:12 -0500 (EST)
From: Macki   <macki at 2600.com>
Subject: [DeCSS] press release

I've sent this to a basic list of press contacts. It's a good idea to add
local information and send it to your local news organizations as well.

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DAY OF ACTION PLANNED AGAINST MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION IN 100 CITIES

Members of the hacker and open source communities worldwide, along with
various civil liberties groups, are planning a massive leafletting
campaign on Friday, February 4 to call attention to the recent attempts
by the Motion Picture Association of America to shut down thousands of
websites. 

Lawsuits have been filed against hundreds of people, as well as an Internet
Service Provider and a magazine, for having information the MPAA wants
to keep secret.

The controversy centers around a computer program known as DeCSS, thought to
be written by a 16 year old in Norway. The program defeats the encryption 
scheme used by DVD's which prohibits them from being viewed on non-approved
machines or computers. It also enables DVD's from one country to be
played in another, contrary to the wishes of the movie industry. It does
NOT facilitate DVD piracy - in fact, copying DVD's has been possible
since their introduction years ago. In its press releases on the subject,
the MPAA has claimed that this is a piracy issue and they have subsequently
succeeded in getting injunctions against a number of sites that had 
posted the program in the interests of free speech.

This is in effect a lawsuit against the entire Internet community by
extremely powerful corporate interests. The lawsuit and the various
actions being planned promise to be a real showdown between two increasingly
disparate sides in the technological age. The consequences of losing this
case are so serious that civil libertarians, professors, lawyers, and a
wide variety of others have already stepped forward to help out.

Friday's action will be coordinated in 74 cities throughout North America
and 26 cities in other parts of the world. Leafletting will take place
outside theaters and video stores in these cities - all of which 
participate in a monthly "2600" gathering. 2600 Magazine has been named
in two lawsuits regarding the DeCSS program and has joined with the
the growing number of people who will fight these actions by the MPAA
until the end.

The lawsuit has been filed by the Motion Picture Association of America,
Columbia/Tristar, Universal City Studios, Paramount Pictures, Disney
Enterprises, Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and
Time Warner Entertainment.

Contact:
Emmanuel Goldstein
(631) 751-2600 ext. 0


----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
Seth David Schoen <schoen at loyalty.org>  | And do not say, I will study when I
Temp.  http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/  | have leisure; for perhaps you will
down:  http://www.loyalty.org/   (CAF)  | not have leisure.  -- Pirke Avot 2:5