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Dan Gillmor's column from the San Jose Mercury News. Also at http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/business/3196852.htm REPLAY MUST SPY: Hollywood's contempt for its customers is legendary, but now the entertainment cartel has persuaded a judge to require a consumer-electronics company to spy on its own customers -- in order to help the cartel kill some technology it doesn't like. I'm referring to a federal magistrate's order that SonicBlue, maker of the Replay 4000 digital video recorder, rewrite its software to keep a record of every show customers record and which commercials they bypass, among other data. This invasion of policy is beyond outrageous. The movie studios and broadcasters loathe these systems largely because they give customers more choices in how they receive and use programs. In the Replay case, they also hate the ability of customers to send copies of shows to their friends. Hollywood doesn't care if there are perfectly legal uses for technology; it tries to outlaw anything it can't absolutely control. For now, customers' names won't be part of what Replay has to turn over to the studios (barring a successful appeal of this terrible ruling). But individual ID numbers will be created, which could later be linked to customers' names. If you think Hollywood or some other party won't demand the actual names of the customers in the future, you're kidding yourself. This case isn't just about SonicBlue. It's ultimately about all technology. Hollywood thinks the tech industry needs Hollywood's permission before innovation can proceed. Cases like this, and proposed federal legislation, would give the entertainment cartel great power over what you can do with the technology you buy. The tech industry should have a SonicBlue Defense Fund. Why is one small company fighting the battle for the big guys? They'll be next, and they could face a damaging precedent. Dan Gillmor's column appears each Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. Visit Dan's online column, eJournal (www.dangillmor.com). E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]; phone (408) 920-5016; fax (408) 920-5917.
