teched’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: France Passes Copyright Law Demanding Royalties For Every Image Search Engines Index Online

teched ( profile ), 27 Aug, 2016 @ 02:38am

You do know what most internet images are, right?

French Republic to the World
"All your porn belong to us"

On the post: Court Says There's No Remedy For Person Whose Vehicle Was Subjected To Civil Forfeiture After An Illegal Search

teched ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2016 @ 04:59am

Precedent

"The constitutional rule applies only when its deterrence benefits outweigh its heavy social costs"

Anyone want to apply that statement to the second amendment? Anyone in Texas?

On the post: Police Slowly Waking Up To Fact That Vehicle Network Security Is A Joke To Hackers, Thieves

teched ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2016 @ 03:42pm

Solution

Remember this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCl_KxGLgOA

On the post: US Intelligence Agencies To Americans Travelling Abroad: Trust No One, Use Burner Phones, They're All Out To Get You

teched ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2016 @ 03:45pm

Get your free burner phone here

Heh, come to Tasmania and you could receive a free burner phone. One that tracks every movement ;)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-13/tasmanian-tourist-tracker-provides-limitless-insights/7410254

On the post: Australian Electoral Commission Refuses To Allow Researchers To Check E-Voting Software

teched ( profile ), 17 Jun, 2016 @ 03:25pm

We have been using proprietary voting software for a long time

Once a year, Australia stops and most adults cast their vote for the winner in a race called the Melbourne Cup. Many people cast multiple votes, and everyone backs their vote with money. Ok, we call this betting on a horse, but it's essentially the same thing.

Most of this is done electronically these days. It is handled by an entity called the TAB. And, sure, you can cheat on a horse race but it is much harder to cheat the TAB.

Elections would seem to be lot easier to handle, after all they are only a two-horse race.

On the post: Europe Is About To Create A Link Tax: Time To Speak Out Against It

teched ( profile ), 14 Jun, 2016 @ 03:32pm

Who pays?

If a student is asked to critique a novel as part of an exam, who pays the snippet tax? Is it the student or the educational institution that asked that student to take the exam?

On the post: UK Gov't Pushing For 10-Year Jail Sentences For Copyright Infringement Based On ¯_(ツ)_/¯

teched ( profile ), 10 May, 2016 @ 05:24pm

Pick your crime carefully

So the UK government is actively encouraging shoplifting by enacting this law.

Penalty for stealing a CD from a shop is a penalty notice and a fine of around £80. Penalty for staying at home and downloading a file from that CD is 10 years imprisonment.

Obviously the message is "go out there and nick stuff from the shop".

Probably part of the war on obesity.

On the post: Michigan Politicians Want People Who Hack Cars To Spend The Rest Of Their Lives In Prison

teched ( profile ), 04 May, 2016 @ 04:08pm

Just needs a slight mod

If the bill could be rewritten so that hacking a politician would result in a life sentence, then we might all support it.

Would be nice to see all the lobbyists locked up.

On the post: Another Federal Judge Says No Expectation Of Privacy In Cell Site Location Info Because Everyone Knows Phones Generate This Data

teched ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2016 @ 02:49pm

Everyone should know...

Does this ruling mean that dumb people are protected?

On the post: French Police Report On Paris Attacks Shows No Evidence Of Encryption… So NY Times Invents Evidence Itself

teched ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2016 @ 01:54pm

Expert witness

"When the laptop powered on, she saw a line of gibberish across the screen"

You mean Arabic script?

On the post: Full Brief From San Bernardino District Attorney Even More Insane Than Application About 'Dormant Cyber Pathogen'

teched ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2016 @ 12:45pm

Why all the fuss?

Why not give the phone to Apple, who move it to a secure, locked room, send in an engineer* with a hammer. Ten minutes later they can legitimately say "we tried to break in, but now the phone is broken. Sorry"

* hire one who went to the same school as Ramos

On the post: Patreon Moves To Give Users A Chance To Respond To DMCA Notices Before Taking Down Content

teched ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2016 @ 02:37pm

The courts are deciding the meaning of "expeditious"

"this does increase the liability to Patreon, because someone certainly could sue, and say that the 48 hours doesn't meet the DMCA's "expeditious" requirement for removals"

It seems to me that the courts are in the process of deciding the meaning of "expeditious". Based on average reasonable FOIA response times, six months of so should be seen as blindingly fast.

On the post: Tesla Says GM Pushing Indiana Bill To Kill Direct-To-Consumer Tesla Sales

teched ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2016 @ 02:11pm

Let the bill pass

I say, let the bill pass. Then argue that all used car sales must now go through a dealer. See how long that lasts.

On the post: The 'Coke Zero' Trademark Madness May Finally Be Coming To An End

teched ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2016 @ 01:41pm

Champagne was first

Zero dosage fizz has been around since at least the 'seventies.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-champagne+brut+nature+-+zero

On the post: South Carolina Politicians Propose Ridculous Plan To Register Journalists… To Make A Statement About Gun Control

teched ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2016 @ 01:00pm

Problem with satire...

A journalist writes satire in a newspaper, or a blog - cost to taxpayer, nil.

A politician proposes a bill as satire - cost to taxpayer $$$.

Feeling good now suckers?

On the post: VPN Providers Laugh Off Netflix's New Futile War On VPNs

teched ( profile ), 20 Jan, 2016 @ 01:09pm

Re: Re: Stopping VPN use: Pros vs Cons

"customers they are stealing"

You can't steal a customer. Its called competition.

On the post: Here We Go Again: All The Works That Should Now Be In The Public Domain, But Aren't

teched ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2016 @ 12:41pm

Its a shame the public has not thought to sell copyright

Here's a thought. Change copyright to 10 years from the date of creation. Then, if the content owners wish to extend copyright, allow them to buy extensions from the public.

10 years is a reasonably generous gift from the public to content creators. In the real world of physical content it is generally considered to be enough to warrant investment of considerable funds. For instance, in steelmaking we need around $600 million to build a blast furnace, and we know that after around ten years it will fall down and need to be replaced. So then, if we want to keep making money from steelmaking, we need to invest more money.

Why not align copyright more closely to physical property in this way? Invest today to create a work, expect returns for ten years then invest in a new work or buy anther ten years of copyright monopoly from the public.

On the post: NY Times Warns About Europe Expanding The 'Right To Be Forgotten'

teched ( profile ), 24 Dec, 2015 @ 12:53pm

Does this only apply to electronic data?

Does the right to be forgotten apply to the written word?

Will we need to search for, and burn, any books that someone may not agree with?

Oh yes, bookburning, where have I seen that before?

On the post: Senator Tom Cotton Slams Apple CEO Tim Cook For Protecting User Privacy; Demonstrates Pure Ignorance Of The Law

teched ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2015 @ 12:36pm

Need a new bill

Can someone here please ask their congressman to put forward a bill that mandates a backdoor to all the NSA servers?
Then we can sit back and watch as all the backdoor enthusiasts shift their positions.

On the post: FISA Court's Appointed Advocate Not Allowing Government's 'National Security' Assertions To Go Unchallenged

teched ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2015 @ 01:06pm

Needs the McCaul solution

The government also states, without more, that limiting the records it holds to those belonging to plaintiffs is "entirely unworkable."

McCaul said:

I will not tell you that it's an easy solution, but I've had very in-depth discussions that I do believe there are alternatives. There are some solutions to this problem. And I think the inherent problem, and the reason why I'm advocating the formation of this commission, is because of the reluctance of both parties to sit in the same room together. And so what this legislation provides -- in fact what it will mandate -- that all relevant parties sit in the same room together, and in a very short period of time, provide the Congress with solutions and recommendations for legislation to deal with what I consider to, as I said in my remarks, one of the most difficult challenges of this century, in dealing with counterterrorism and basically criminal behavior.

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