MUSIC fans might soon have their iPods searched by Customs officers at airport checks and face jail if a large amount of pirated music is found on them. The push for the unprecedented searches of travellers’ laptops and MP3 players has been revealed in a leaked discussion paper relating to a treaty being negotiated by the Federal Government. It suggests criminal sanctions for infringements on a commercial scale. That meant innocent pop and rock fans with huge song libraries could unwittingly be hit with jail for commercial piracy, according to Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos.
“It talks about (sanctions for) commercial infringements does that mean one, 10, 20 or 1000 songs?
“It could be that people get sent to jail for being in possession of commercial-scale quantities of copied music.”
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith’s office has confirmed the Government was a part of negotiations for the international agreement, but Australia had not signed nor agreed to any aspect. Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said: “Searching into people’s iPods is out of order. “We don’t need to suffer draconian regimes to protect intellectual property.”US music labels are keen for their government to sign up other countries to the zero-tolerance stance.
A significant part of my job is data recovery, and clients music has become the largest block of data the customer wants to recover. I usually keep the data on my recovery computer for a week or two until I am sure they are satisfied. So my question is, does that make me an accomplice?
I really think it is about time for a boycott. I realize people won’t give up their entertainment. However, I would think that it would be possible to organize a 24 hour period when nobody buys any drm’d music, CD’s, DVD movies, etc. I suggest it should happen on a Tuesday (new release day in the U.S.) If it worked it would show how fed up people are getting with the RIAA and their crap.
If you did encrypt your drive, then you’d automatically be busted because you must be trying to hide something and, therefore, you’re a terrorist.
#34 Encrypt the whole drive. What a pain in the butt. Just a folder or two.
I remember once being hassled at customs on the way back in. The guy asked what I was doing while travelling abroad. I said, “business”. He asked what business? I told him that he didn’t have sufficient security clearance to hear the answer.
He let me go quickly. LOL What an idiot.
F U D
I laugh at those who question probable cause.
Is their probable cause at airports? No they search whoever and whatever.
All your iPod belong to us.
#22, gquaglia;
I’m sorry, where does the Constitution say that “the Constitution does not apply at the borders”?
For that matter, where does the Constitution say that it only applies to citizens?
To run the answers down:
1) It is formulated in the US, for other countries to agree to under trade agreement laws, which do not need to be passed through the governmental body as a bill.
2) It applies to customs agents AND border patrol agents from any agreeing nation.
3) The training the agents will have comes from trainers contracted by the RIAA,MPAA, ane ESA. So no, music is not the only thing. Movies and games are focused on as well.
4) The agents are being trained to assume the worst case scenario, as in if it’s on a list, it’s illegal.
5) Upon detection of assumed illegal content, the agents can seize and immediately destroy the item in question without any reparations to the owner of the item.
6) Under the agreement, it gives DMCA authority to any country that signs it.
So, to clarify, It’s being snuck in, gives the DMCA the ability to cross borders, search is handled by agents of the most anally aggressive litigators in the country, and there is no recourse to any actions taken in them destroying your property.
Want to bring a product across the border, better clear it first or be prepared to lose it.
Oh, and they can demand the encryption key as well. Failure to turn it over results in jail time, possibly under the PATRIOT act as a possible terrorist.
Fun trade agreement, huh?
“Oh, and they can demand the encryption key as well. Failure to turn it over results in jail time, possibly under the PATRIOT act as a possible terrorist.”
That will be a fun one for the SCotUS under self incrimination. Won’t survive 1st appeal…
Just CHANGE the extension, and/or names..
#39 until you clear Customs, you are not in the U.S. and have no rights. Sorry to break it to you, but that is how its always been.
#43,
You didn’t answer the questions.
#44 Try that argument next time you try and re-enter the country. Let us know how the rubber gloved cavity search felt.
#11 – bill – I sang a copyrighted song in the shower today! Can I be arrested? fined?
Ulrich is coming to get you…
#46 – myself
But that was of course, the bad Ulrich… not the Good Ulrich…
Of course this process can’t be enforced now, but that’s not the point. The idea is to change the law now so that later watermarking technologies can make it easier to detect purchased content. Already the laws are in place to make it illegal to circumvent DRM, so this is just part of the plan to prevent piracy and bypass fair use.
Yet another reason to avoid traveling to the good ol USofA.
Please let the Australian authorities know when the USA has entirely criminalized the population and your shiny new private prisons are full. We have a long history of criminal storage over here and would be happy to send you a quote.
Yet another good reason to avoid traveling to the USA.
Please tell your authorities that when they have finished criminalizing the entire population and all the shiny new private prisons are full, they should contact the Australian government. We have a long history of quality criminal storage over here and would happily provide a quote.
#45;
Stop getting sidetracked and answer the questions.
What about those of us who use a subscription service such as the Zune Marketplace or Raphsody? I have a ton of music on my Zune (about 65 GB) and I have a hunch that the uninformed employees would flag that as a violation…
Corruption has reached levels seldom seen in history in our country.
CURRENT:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080728/1914061820.shtml
Boy! Way to go towards killing tourism into this country (and the UK). Who is going to want to come here, if all their electronic devices are going to be searched? Somehow I really doubt this is only about protecting the RIAA and MPAA properties. Any serious smuggler would have all the stuff burned to DVDs and CDs, in his checked baggage. Are they going to start tearing out the suitcase linings, looking for those now?! Or are the Feds really more interested in finding secret intelligence files stored on these devices? Since the internet and the phone system is already monitored by the NSA. The airlines is the gap that they’ve haven’t plugged until now.
And if this is only about protecting the RIAA and MPAA’s interests. Then it’s to enforce their “regional code” of control over what’s sold where, and for how much. Basically, copyrighted entertainment material has become the new international monetary instrument. Because practically everything else is constantly devalued paper. They haven’t called the agencies who are usually responsible for policy counterfeit currency. Probably because they don’t want to give away this away. In the Information Age, it’s the info that’s valuable. Not the discs, or the bucks used to buy them. Notice that they’re not interested into searching passengers’ wallets for any counterfeit currency.
Balbas said
Check the article carefully:
The plan is for Australia, NOT the US.
There’s only a reference to US music companies, not the US implementing this plan.
You’re the one that needs to check things more clearly. It’s an international trade agreement. That means that it originated in the biggest bully country on the planet.. the US.
I wouldn’t worry about this. It’s absolutely impossible to enforce. At least with the current state of things. If they pass another law, in the US, making converting your own CDs to MP3s illegal, then things may change.
Personally, I think that these sorts of stories are meant more as psyops than anything else. They’re just trying to scare people. Either that or they are just putting certain pieces of a puzzle together, one step at a time.
The other possibility is that the RIAA/MPAA are using these tactics to bully media player companies into getting some cash from them.
Most people are unaware, that despite all the bellyaching about piracy, the RIAA/MPAA get a cut off of every blank CD/DVD and CD/DVD burners that are sold, on the pretense that people are using these devices to pirate music/films. So even though they whine about it all the time, the still make some cash off of it.
53,
If you read my last post..
ITS in canada ALSO..
and they are putting it in ALL TRADE AGREEMENTS..
SOON those COPS at the airport will be looking for MOVIES, GUNS, MUSIC, CHEMICALS, FLASH drives, Laptops, CD/DVD’s…..and so forth.
THAT for the price of being a LOW paid security.
Non story will never fly, it has already been discounted here. USA and Canada go for it.
We are still having trouble getting people to pay for water let alone MP3’s. Non event McCullough do some work or just give us another you tube video that seem to be replacing news on this site.
Chris,
it is a Story..
They have been Slamming on Canada for over 5 years trying the Pay There congress and reps, AS they do here. Its been up for a vote at least 3 times. NOW they are trying to back door it.
In Europe, they are hitting each country. TRYING to change OLD trade agreements.