[Nottingham] Is it theft to be live alive? (Was: Media Centre Linux distro?)

[Martin]

On 09/05/12 09:00, Michael Erskine wrote:
> Is it theft to hum a TV theme tune in the street or remember a good
> joke from a TV program and tell it to someone who doesn't have a
> license? :)

Reminds me of:

George Orwell: 1984
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farenheit_451


That also reminds me of:

More CCTV cameras than there are public to 'monitor';

ANR to 'monitor' where you drive and where you park your vehicle;

Gatsos to 'monitor' how fast you drive;

And we are quickly moving towards unfettered GPS position and network
location 'monitoring' for where you are at every instant if you are a
part of society with one of those moby thingies.


How long before the ever more pervasive CCTV monitoring includes
microphones?...


> These particular laws are artificial constructs: just a way of
> ensuring (enforcing) a revenue stream. They're largely accepted,
> albeit begrudgingly, by most in our society. Individuals can choose
> whether they want to participate but the assumption is that everyone
> does and it is tough to opt out. Breaking these laws...

... is something that needs to be done, but still legally, and before we
are all legally made unavoidably guilty and randomly prey to the
"speculative invoicing" or worse. That "speculative" 'trick' has already
been perpetrated randomly on behalf of one small part of the music
industry against anyone randomly associated with an internet address,
whether the victim knew anything of that or not! I'm sure we'll see new
variants on that despicable theme. Lawyers letters for most people are
very scary.

At least that one avenue of extortion has been slammed shut by a recent
legal case:

An IP Address Does Not Identify a Person, Rules Judge
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/torrent-download-Piracy-IP-address-porn,15548.html

Shame the jingo-istic media miss the point completely and paste up a
jolly pirate picture!

Shame also for the thousands that were stung with 'extortion', real
fear, and heartache, every month for the few years that abomination of
an operation was perpetrated. Was that called ACS Law?... (Just my very
personal opinion of course.)

And what happens when IPv6 is more widely used that uniquely identifies
a particular personal device?


I'm sure there's going to be many more speculative stings foisted on
ever more new victims as such monitoring information falls into the
hands of ever more 'operators'.

Add facial recognition and...


A daily list of all your new friends and acquaintances sold to the
highest bidder by whatever enterprising PI?...

A video file of you dropping a bus ticket on the floor is to be emailed
to the Magistrates for a £200 fine unless you immediately pay £100 for
exclusive rights to the video clip...

Just for two small examples...


All on your street... How long? How soon?

Cheers,
Martin



ANR: Automatic Number-plate Recognition. As seen at various supermarket
car parks and retail parks. Also in widespread use on major road routes.

PI: "Private Investigator", and usually nothing like the romantic stuff
portrayed on TV.



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