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Criminalizing Password Sharing Is A Step Towards Fascism. (Original Post) thomhartmann Jul 2016 OP
like the fascist state that employs you, Thom? uhnope Jul 2016 #1
Good point rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #3
Indeed it is... Triana Jul 2016 #2
No one is talking about bank accounts rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #5
My password is RoccoR5955 Jul 2016 #4
You are a sitting duck rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #6
I know all about that RoccoR5955 Jul 2016 #12
It's not "sharing" It's theft . stonecutter357 Jul 2016 #7
not in my book AntiBank Jul 2016 #8
So I guess you don't sign user agreements rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #9
I have serious differences with the copyright cartel, its not about my lack of money AntiBank Jul 2016 #10
It's not a "cartel" of course rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #11
 

rjsquirrel

(4,762 posts)
3. Good point
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 08:54 AM
Jul 2016

That country is also the largest source of criminal network intrusion.

Password "sharing" sounds innocuous. "Theft of services" is, however, an existing criminal tort.

 

Triana

(22,666 posts)
2. Indeed it is...
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 08:53 AM
Jul 2016

Many people need to share passwords with family. Lastpass (a well-known password manager, a utility everyone should be using these days) facilitates the sharing of family passwords. https://helpdesk.lastpass.com/sharing-4-0/shared-family-folders/

Shared bank accounts is one instance where this would be necessary. Netflix can utilize family accounts for its function.

Criminalizing this is ridiculous. Many of these laws - even those passed in the 1980s - have not changed since written, yet technology has sped forward so the laws often no longer fit today's lifestyles, making enforcement ridiculous.

 

rjsquirrel

(4,762 posts)
5. No one is talking about bank accounts
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 08:57 AM
Jul 2016

This is not about a password you own, but a service you have contracted to which a password is a key.

If you rent a car and loan the key to someone not on the rental agreement, you incur all the liability entailed.

Pretending this is somehow against "sharing" rather than theft is disingenuous. Most digital content providers offer a per household or family plan anyway.

 

rjsquirrel

(4,762 posts)
6. You are a sitting duck
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 08:59 AM
Jul 2016

just in case you're serious.

Never ever use a common word found in a dictionary -- certainly not without randomized elements added-- and never use the same exact password across multiple sites or accounts.

Use two factor authentication in all possible contexts. Use a password manager and change your passwords every few months at least.

 

RoccoR5955

(12,471 posts)
12. I know all about that
Sat Jul 16, 2016, 12:31 AM
Jul 2016

I was joking.
I have been doing IT work for 27 years. I know what a good password is. Two step authentication is a pain.
Here's a good way to come up with a password, complements of XKCD:https://xkcd.com/936/

 

rjsquirrel

(4,762 posts)
9. So I guess you don't sign user agreements
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 11:48 AM
Jul 2016

for commercial digital services? Which means you can't be using them legally if you are.

Celebrating "piracy" as resistance rather than admitting it mostly describes the money-motivated theft of legally owned intellectual property and the violation of legally contracted user agreements is very 2004 dorm room activist. Many workers make their livings providing these services, not just artists or record companies or movie studios or large companies. I'm one of them.

If you don't like it the Internet is awash in legitimate free content or you are free to make your own movies and music or journalism naturally. But if you sign a user agreement and don't abide by its terms that's on you to bear the consequences.

"Sharing" and "piracy" are romantic terms for theft.

If you don't believe in intellectual property or charging for services you can create your own content and give it away, write your own software, or work to change a global system of laws and agreements. If you see stealing content as civil disobedience then you should be prepared to bear the economic consequences.

Most people I've ever met who claim to be motivated by a political objection to intellectual property rights are actually just too cheap to pay for shit they consume. Rarely are they too poor, which is a whole other kettle of fish.

There's a lot wrong with IP law and copyright enforcement practices and the like, but that doesn't mean they serve no purpose.

 

AntiBank

(1,339 posts)
10. I have serious differences with the copyright cartel, its not about my lack of money
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 11:53 AM
Jul 2016

i actually do not share pw's btw

 

rjsquirrel

(4,762 posts)
11. It's not a "cartel" of course
Fri Jul 15, 2016, 12:34 PM
Jul 2016

but that's a nice turn of phrase.

Copyright directly accounts for trillions of dollars annually flowing through the global economy. It funds scientific and creative work in irreplaceable ways. It benefits so many diverse groups that many (such as, famously, musicians, record companies, and streaming service providers) are at each other's throats over how to calculate and divide the revenues it produces. Some cartel you've got there when mega-corporations are fighting each other over every aspect of the law and its enforcement.

So calling "copyright" as such as "cartel" is vast oversimplification. Sounds good, doesn't suggest any real world thought has gone into the matter.

I have a lot of problems with the way intellectual property law works too. I make a part of my living off patents and copyrights, however. When you steal my ideas you steal from me, not just my publishers or licensees. I'd love some free access to your work product of your own labor too (especially if you're a beer maker!).

As I said, if you view IP piracy as political protest you're welcome to do so, and there are situations where I could see some argument for it (primarily poverty, which you disclaim). I am a big supporter of open access and open source solutions (which do not do away with copyright, they strengthen it).

But if you choose to protest by breaking the law, intellectual consistency demands you accept the consequences as the legitimate exercise of power of the state enforcing duly enacted laws.

ETA that as I last understood, Icelandic and Nordic Pirate Parties disclaimed any associations with copyright violation as such).

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