P2P Hacking Bill: Berman Speaks

Related link: http://www.politechbot.com/p-03949.html

Anti-hacking laws currently on the books are designed to punish people or companies who break into someone else's computer. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) recently entered a bill that would exempt from these penalties copyright holders who hack computers running on P2P systems in attempt to prevent piracy of their content.

Apparently stung by the criticism of the bill on the Politich mailing list, run by cnet's Washington reporter Declan McCullagh, Berman's office submitted a rationale for the bill. The entire message is available on Declan's site. Some of the choicer excerpts:

Does H.R. 5211 allow copyright owners to hack into my computer?

No. Despite wildly inaccurate press reports, H.R. 5211 in no way allows a copyright owner to "hack" into anyone's computer. Copyright owners are only allowed to enter or look into a P2P user's computer to the same extent that any other P2P user is able to do so. In other words, if a KaZaA user has advertized to all 100 million other KaZaA users that he wants to download or distribute a copyrighted song, the songwriter is not "hacking" if she reads the advertisement like everyone else. H.R. 5211 then allows the songwriter to take certain, limited actions to stop the distribution of her copyrighted song between KaZaA users, but in no way allows her to enter or look into a private area of those KaZaA users' computers.

Why is a safe harbor from liability for copyright owners necessary?

Certain laws, while intended to prohibit malicious computer hacking, are so broadly drafted that they may inadvertently create liability for copyright owners who are merely trying to prevent piracy of their creations on P2P networks. Because it is virtually certain that some P2P pirates will attempt to use those laws to prevent copyright owners from stopping piracy, it is necessary to clarify those laws.