"my name is Bill Gates, and i own a software company..."

funny (requires Flash)

California Democrat Rep Howard Berman will introduce legislation to allow Big Content the right to hack file-sharing systems that it sees as harmful to its business interests. in Berman's own special Orwellian double-talk, this illegal disruption of the internet isn't actually "hacking" but "technological self-help measures".

I'm OK, you're about to be 0wn3d by47ch! by Dr Howard Berman.

Rep Berman's largest contributors (Big Content's been conspicuously generous to the gentleman from California this election cycle) will receive special immunity from current state and federal laws (such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) against tampering with computers. this will allow them to sabotage file-sharing services (who are, coincidentally, competitors to their own digital music initiatives like pressplay and MusicNet) by flooding networks with bogus requests, hijacking and redirecting users' queries, and injecting corrupted files into the system.

despite standard promises of "narrowly crafted" legislation, the proposed law amounts to government-approved copyright enforcement powers (above and beyond the Copyright Act, the DMCA, and the BPDG) being given to Big Content. there's no real indication that their powers would be limited to peer-to-peer networks or music, but could very well be interpreted, for example, to allow a company like Disney to redirect requests to a site that parodies or satirizes them by using their content fairly.

Berman's fellow Big Content sock-puppets at the RIAA said they were "encouraged" by the Congressman's attempt to elevate the labels' business concerns above the law. RIAA supremo Hilary Rosen's been itching to lead Big Content's copyright vigilantes onto the net since last fall, and now Rep Berman's putting the plan in motion.