P2P = Peer to Porn ?!

Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2003 4:24 pm

RIAA's latest campaign to educate the US public has led to the introduction of a bill which would require children parental consent to use p2p software. What's next, p2p = porn and it should be outlawed?

Article link here.

An ironic quote:

From-the-article wrote:

Others ask whether raising this issue is more than a little cynical from an industry that heavily promotes music with sexual and violent themes.

More highlights for the bill itself (copied from a Slashdot headline ):

Slashdot wrote:

The result is H. R. 2885 ( available via Thomas ), which has the remarkably clear and honest intent 'To prohibit the distribution of peer-to-peer file trading software in interstate commerce.' Amongst other things, the proposed law will require the creation of 'do-not-install beacon products' (do-not-ask, you really don't want to know), force P2P apps to include warning labels that users may be exposed to pornography, and require P2P developers and distributors to obtain and store users' personal information -- ostensibly for age verification, but one can think of other reasons that the RIAA might be interested in that info. Worse yet, even given the 'operation exemption' (Sec. (4)(b)(1)(C) in the bill), applications such as AIM and iChat appear to fall under these provisions."

Note that IM apps may be labeled as "porn trading software". Time to write your congressman, US comrades, or mount a protest like the Europeans did ?