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The RIAA and MPAA trot out their spokespeople at conferences and
public events all over the country, repeating their misleading
talking points. Innovators are pirates, fair use is theft, the sky
is falling, up is down, and so on. Their rhetoric shouldn't be given
a free pass.
To that end, EFF has prepared a sample list of tough questions for
times when you hear entertainment industry representatives speaking
and want to challenge their positions. Asking hard questions is a
way of "keeping honest people honest" and revealing when they're
actually being deceptive. Feel free to republish these and add your
own questions.
Music
1) The RIAA has sued more than 20,000 music fans for file sharing,
yet file sharing continues to rapidly increase both online and
offline. When will you stop suing music fans?
2) The RIAA has sued over 20,000 music fans for file sharing, who
have on average paid a $3,750 settlement. That's over $75,000,000.
Has any money collected from your lawsuits gone to pay actual
artists? Where's all that money going?
3) The RIAA has sued over 20,000 music fans for file sharing.
Recently, an RIAA representative reportedly suggested that "students
drop out of college or go to community college in order to be able
to afford [P2P lawsuit] settlements." Do you stand by this advice?
Is this really good advice for our children's futures?
4) The RIAA said that it only went after individual file sharers
because you couldn't go after P2P system creators. After the Supreme
Court's Grokster decision, shouldn't you stop going after music
fans?
5) Major entertainment companies have repeatedly brought lawsuits to
block new technologies, including the VCR, Digital Audio Tape
recorders, the first MP3 player, the ReplayTV PVR, and now P2P
software. Why is your industry so hostile to new technologies?
6) DRM has clearly failed to stop songs from getting on file sharing
networks, but it does prevent me from moving lawfully purchased
music onto my iPod and other portable devices. Unlike the major
record labels, many popular indie labels offer mp3 downloads through
sites like eMusic. Why won't you let fans purchase mp3s as well?
7) The RIAA says that it doesn't mind if I rip CDs to my personal
computer and put them on my iPod. Do I need your permission to do
this or can I legally do it even if you object?
8 ) Recording off the radio is clearly permitted by copyright law and
something Americans have done for over 25 years, but the RIAA
supports legislation restricting devices that record from digital
radio. Why are you against TiVo for radio?
9) Sony BMG recently implemented a DRM technology that damaged
users' computers. But for independent researchers' analyses, this
serious flaw may have gone undiscovered. After this scandal, will
record labels allow any computer scientist or security expert to
examine these products and agree not to sue them under the DMCA?
Video
1) The major movie studios have been enjoying some of their most
profitable years in history over the past five years. Can you cite
to any specific studies that prove noncommercial file sharing among
fans, as opposed to commercial DVD piracy, has hurt the studios'
bottom line in any significant way?
2) Is it legal for me to bypass CSS DVD encryption in order to skip
the "unskippable" previews at the beginning of so many DVDs? Why
should I have to be forced to watch these ads when I already bought
the DVD?
3) Is it legal for me to skip the commercials when I play back time-
shifted TV recordings on my TiVo or other PVR? How is this different
than getting up and going to the bathroom?
4) Why are there region-code restrictions on DVDs? How does this
prevent copyright infringement? Is it illegal for me to buy or and
use a region-free DVD player, or to modify a DVD player to be region-
free?
5) In several lawsuits, the MPAA has repeatedly said that it's
illegal to make a back-up of a DVD that I purchased. Why is this
illegal?
6) Is it ever legal for me to use software like DVD Shrink or
Handbrake to rip a digital copy of a DVD I own onto a video iPod or
my laptop? What if I want clips to use for a class report? Or if a
teacher wants to include a clip in a PowerPoint slide?
7) Is there anything illegal about copying TV shows I've recorded
off the air onto my video iPod?
8 ) If the MPAA-backed "broadcast flag" bill passes, I won't be able
to move recorded TV content digitally to my current video iPod. Why
should TV studios get to take away my ability to lawfully time- and
space-shift?
9) Major entertainment companies have repeatedly brought lawsuits to
block new technologies, including the VCR, Digital Audio Tape
recorders, the first MP3 player, the ReplayTV PVR, and now P2P
software. Why is your industry so hostile to new technologies?
10) Hollywood is pushing legislation to "plug the analog hole."
These restrictions won't keep copyrighted video off of file sharing
networks, but they will block me from excerpting a recorded TV show
for a school report or using tools like the Slingbox to send
recorded TV shows to myself over the Internet. Why are you trying to
restrict these legitimate uses?
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