Share password, go straight to jail. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

You know, if lawmakers and companies hate the internet so much, why did they make it public in the first place?

The NY Times tells us:

Quote :

If you live in Tennessee, July 1st 2011 could become a day that lives in infamy for anyone caught sharing login info with pals to access streaming media. That's D-Day for a bill just passed by the state that criminalizes using a friend's login—with or without permission—to stream movies or songs via services like Netflix and Rhapsody.

Oh eff.

Quote :

The bill, supported by the recording industry, seeks primarily to penalize hackers and illegal music traffickers, but it'll also be wieldable as a way to go after anyone who's sharing streaming subscription login info with members outside their household.

What the fuck does this have to do with torrents? And how does this, in any way, target hackers more than victims of hacking and account theft? Or, you know, the average law-abiding citizen with a fuckton of gadgets in different places? But most importantly, how are they going to enforce bullshit like this?

Quote :

That info's tagged to Internet Protocol (IP) data, which indicates where each user's logging on from, making it a snap for companies like Netflix or Rhapsody to determine if someone's routinely using login info from multiple locations.

Oh fuck you. Because people totally only ever use one device in this world. I mean, seriously. Who would ever go to their friend's house on a regular basis, or relative's house, or educational facility, or workplace, and actually use the service that they paid for and are entitled to use wherever they want? I mean, if these companies wanted to restrict their service to only a certain number of authorized devices, why the fuck don't they do that? Oh wait, they do. But I guess only when they feel like it? Apparently writing, passing, and enforcing laws is easier than installing code and security failsafes in your site.

Quote :

But wait, you're allowed to login from places other than your home, aren't you? I do with my iPhone, and can't I sign into a friend's PS3 and use my Netflix ID to watch movies at their house? Maybe yes, maybe no—it depends on each service's terms.

Screw everything. I don't even feel like snarking this anymore. The article does it half-assedly anyways, and asks the question that I'm sure we're all wondering: WHAT THE FUCK IS LEGAL, AND WHAT ISN'T UNDER THIS BILL, THEN?

Quote :

According to Bill Ramsey, a Nashville entertainment lawyer, the law probably won't be used to target people under the same roof, in part because small violations aren't easily detected. But "when you start going north of 10 people, a prosecutor might look and say, 'Hey, you knew it was stealing'."

So in other words, they would take the law to extreme if they could.

I don't like words like "probably", and "might", when used to explain how people are going to be affected by a law that's introducing a new kind of felony. I mean, if there's a law that you want to try and abide by, then being vague as shit in favor of Cocknuckles & Dicklock, Inc. is kind of the last thing you want.

Anyways, good luck to all ye who live in TN. 2011 certainly is the year for batshit legislation, isn't it?

Quote :

But "when you start going north of 10 people, a prosecutor might look and say, 'Hey, you knew it was stealing'."

No it isn't, retard. If I buy a sweater from JC Penny's and loan it to a friend, neither of us are stealing anything. I theoretically paid for the service, I'm entitled to use it in anyway I want, provided it doesn't destroy the world.

Oh shit! I've been watching my parent's Netflix while at college! And my sister did the same thing while in Iraq! We've ben stealing from the poor, poor company the while time! And all those times we moved around in college/on vacation? Robbing food from their mouths!

Seriously, do they not understand how some of these things work?

This is completely ridiculous. Suppose we move to another state? Or travel a lot? Besides, this won't stop hackers. Hackers always find a way around these things and they'll start with laptops.

No, it's more likely to penalise your average consumer for visiting an Internet cafe frequently than it is to stop hackers. It's certainly not going to save these people the billions they dream it will.

Maybe we should start a Facebook group dedicated to using these bought-and-paid-for services at as many different locations as possible and see if these companies can actually do anything.

Why do laws about the internet always seem to be made by people who barely understand it? This sames incredibly vague and difficult to enforce and, surprise, suprise, like it'll end up causing the most problems for people who are nothing wrong.

It's not that they don't understand the internet... in fact, many of them understand the internet quite well. What they DON'T know (along with just about everyone else not in the porn industry), is how to make money from the internet. Which is clearly what they're trying to do here.

I agree with Lady Anne. Let's see what these people do when a couple of thousand people say, "Fuck off," to their faces on purpose, while the rest of the world goes on doing it regardless.

Although it seems like it's only illiegal in Tennessee. I don't think we have enough members there...

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

I agree with Lady Anne. Let's see what these people do when a couple of thousand people say, "Fuck off," to their faces on purpose, while the rest of the world goes on doing it regardless.

Although it seems like it's only illiegal in Tennessee. I don't think we have enough members there...

Hence the idea for a Facebook group. That way you can reach a whole lot more people in Tennessee. The key, of course, would be people logging on legally from different computers and locations. If someone did decide to press charges, that could cost them a lot of money and lock up their attorneys for quite a while.

Soooo... If I were to mosey on over to my friend's house in Kentucky and share the password there, they can't do shit about it? 'Cause, y'know, I can border-hop like a boss to avoid Tennessee sales tax and concealed weapons laws, bro. Also, I'm one of those people that uses my laptop in multiple places. What happens if I decide to access from a proxy every time I login?

Tennessee, you are a fail. No one here actually uses Netflix. Go back to worrying about Memphis and Dyersburg drowning, please.

Wait, what if you got hacked by someone? And they steal all of your infomation and use it to play video games/watch Netflix?

The Alien from Uranus wrote:

Soooo... If I were to mosey on over to my friend's house in Kentucky and share the password there, they can't do shit about it? 'Cause, y'know, I can border-hop like a boss to avoid Tennessee sales tax and concealed weapons laws, bro. Also, I'm one of those people that uses my laptop in multiple places. What happens if I decide to access from a proxy every time I login?

Tennessee, you are a fail. No one here actually uses Netflix. Go back to worrying about Memphis and Dyersburg drowning, please.

>implying anyone really cares about Memphis

In it's entire history, two positive things have come from there. Derrick Rose and Freezer's avatar.