Michael Ayers, chair of the AACS business group says that he hopes the public will respect his anti-copying mechanism…

“Some people clearly think it’s a First Amendment issue. There is no intent from us to interfere with people’s right to discuss copy protection. We respect free speech.

“They can discuss the pros and cons. We know some people are critical of the technology.

“But a line is crossed when we start seeing keys being distributed and tools for circumvention. You step outside of the realm of protected free speech then.”

He said tracking down everyone who had published the keys was a “resource intensive exercise”. A search on Google shows almost 700,000 pages have published the key.

Mr Ayers said that while he could not reveal the specific steps the group would be taking, it would be using both “legal and technical” steps to prevent the circumvention of copy protection.

“We will take whatever action is appropriate,” he said. “We hope the public respects our position and complies with applicable laws.”

Maybe all you scumbags should start respecting the public?

When you think about it, the plea for respect coming from a guy whose entire business model begins with the fact that all customers are thieves and then goes on from there. I think that the constant cracking of the much ballyhooed Blu Ray and HD DVD copy protection is going to serve to prove one thing. You can’t keep this stuff locked up as long as you want people to use it.

The sooner the entire entertainment industry stops assuming that anyone buying their products is a thief, the better.

via the Beeb

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