Gov't wants to inspect laptops, cellphones, and MP3 players

[Prince of Darkness]

If this is true...I'll have to carry some form of a dummy computer.

[Death-Destiny]

deathbringer said:

...them USB flash drives are getting pretty big these days aint they, though *puffs pipe*

This is actually what I do. I have a pretty decent flash drive I put my things on so as to avoid having to save to a laptop. I assume (and hope) this act does not allow law enforcement to inspect flash drives too, though that might count as part of "other devices." O_o

[Jim Rainer]

Fuck's sake, this is ridiculous. What the fuck happened to privacy?

[GreyGhost]

It was kneecapped by the "War on Terror" and kicked in the balls by DRM.

myk said:

And they are also both in the Western Hemisphere. Rather than hemisphere, Kid Airbag seems to have meant continent.

That would make sense if Ireland was a continent. :-)

[Death-Destiny]

Jim Rainer said:

Fuck's sake, this is ridiculous. What the fuck happened to privacy?

From the perspective of the gov't, privacy is irrelavent. Anyone could be a terrorist ready to blow something important up. Lucky for us, terrorists always put their top secret plans on their laptops. Then they decide to drive through checkpoints full of law enforcement officers with their laptops on them. Completely unaware that the gov't is on to them, they are caught totally unawares at the ckeckpoint where they are forced to reveal all their schemes. And that is how terrorism comes to an abrupt end.

Uh, not. Terrorists aren't brainless morons. I'm sure they have much more covert ways of informing each other of their plans. If I were a terrorist, I WOULD NOT walk through a checkpoint full of cops with a top secret document on me. This act just takes away the privacy of us law-abiding people. >=(

[myk]

GreyGhost said:
That would make sense if Ireland was a continent. :-)

Well, it's true that it's an island, but a continental island, so it does belong to Eurasia (or Europe) as part of its continental shelf.

[magicsofa]

I thought all land was part of a continent...?

This is indeed, major crapola. I found it interesting that the article mentioned legally-copied material. Why would someone make a backup of a CD if they weren't worried about losing it? Then, if their backup turns out to be a good idea, i.e. they lose the CD, where is the proof that they copied it legally? It's all fudged up. Even with downloading copyrighted music online, aren't you technically allowed to do so if you have the original purchased music? That's the disclaimer I see on ROM wesbites - you may download the game if you have the original cartrige.

If I had some SNES games, and some CDs, and some DVDs, and I downloaded some roms, and ripped the CDs and DVDs to my computer, and then lost all physical material except my comp...I should be safe. Fortunately, I actually did pirate most of it, so I know that I'm not :D

[printz]

Shouldn't this piracy be stopped somehow? This thing about policemen inspecting computers is something I did see coming.

But how would they know stuff I have is either real or illegal? Maybe by timestamps? Well, yes, free stuff would have to come together with licence documents (or software) that link their status and mustn't be deleted, under penalty of law.

[GreyGhost]

printz said:

But how would they know stuff I have is either real or illegal?

They won't have to. All they'll need is "reasonable grounds for suspicion" in order to sieze your property for a more detailed examination.

myk said:

Well, it's true that it's an island, but a continental island

If Ireland was on a minor tectonic plate I could keep this argument going. Damn - shot down in flames - again.

[CODOR]

GreyGhost said:
If Ireland was on a minor tectonic plate I could keep this argument going. Damn - shot down in flames - again.

Should have picked Iceland...

[AndrewB]

SamBeckett94 said:

Sneaky bastards.

Fortunately, I'm not a resident of Canada.

That's a ridiculous way to look at it.

1) The U.S. has far more draconian anti-privacy laws than Canada at the moment.

2) The conservatives hold a minority and the senate is stacked with liberals. This bill is going to fail.

[Versian]

Oh no! My Warez!!!

*just kidding, I don't have Warez*

Even if it this law thing is applied, it will be ridiculous. There gajillions of Laptops, iPods and other stuff out there. Just plain ridiculous.

[GreyGhost]

AndrewB said:

This bill is going to fail.

Not if the following quote from the original article is true.

Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.

[caco_killer]

That's it, Canada sucks now. I thought they were really great because of free health care and shit, but they have no business searching my IPods or computers. How exactly will they determine if something is pirated or not? What if I just want my music on the hard drive because I hate how loud my cd drive is?

Gotta love how the Corporations have control of our government.

[SYS]

caco_killer said:

That's it, Canada sucks now. I thought they were really great because of free health care and shit, but they have no business searching my IPods or computers. How exactly will they determine if something is pirated or not? What if I just want my music on the hard drive because I hate how loud my cd drive is?

Gotta love how the Corporations have control of our government.

The US and the European Union is also subject to this legislation as well. Read teh thread and article properly before posting mmkay? Sure the health care is free but at times it might as well come from a Communist Welfare State. Heaven forbid you have to see a specialist. Takes months to see one and if you want a second opinion that will be more months, and finally your surgery gets scheduled and you can wait up to a year before going under the knife.

At times you really do get what you pay for.

[Jim Rainer]

Death-Destiny said:

From the perspective of the gov't, privacy is irrelavent. Anyone could be a terrorist ready to blow something important up. Lucky for us, terrorists always put their top secret plans on their laptops. Then they decide to drive through checkpoints full of law enforcement officers with their laptops on them. Completely unaware that the gov't is on to them, they are caught totally unawares at the ckeckpoint where they are forced to reveal all their schemes. And that is how terrorism comes to an abrupt end.

Uh, not. Terrorists aren't brainless morons. I'm sure they have much more covert ways of informing each other of their plans. If I were a terrorist, I WOULD NOT walk through a checkpoint full of cops with a top secret document on me. This act just takes away the privacy of us law-abiding people. >=(

Wouldn't be the first time the government fucked us over.

[caco_killer]

POTGIESSER said:

The US and the European Union is also subject to this legislation as well. Read teh thread and article properly before posting mmkay? Sure the health care is free but at times it might as well come from a Communist Welfare State. Heaven forbid you have to see a specialist. Takes months to see one and if you want a second opinion that will be more months, and finally your surgery gets scheduled and you can wait up to a year before going under the knife.

At times you really do get what you pay for.

I'm mainly bitching about Canada because they said downloading music on file sharing services was legal.

Oh, and everything has it's pros and cons.

[AndrewB]

POTGIESSER said:

The US and the European Union is also subject to this legislation as well. Read teh thread and article properly before posting mmkay? Sure the health care is free but at times it might as well come from a Communist Welfare State. Heaven forbid you have to see a specialist. Takes months to see one and if you want a second opinion that will be more months, and finally your surgery gets scheduled and you can wait up to a year before going under the knife.

At times you really do get what you pay for.

I had to wait 6 months for surgery to set my life on the correct course, but I'll get over it. At least it was free.

[Grimm]

AndrewB? You're alive?

That's fine, let this pass, then watch as Niagara Falls, Ontario's economy literally explodes because Americans have stopped walking over the bridge to see it. For starters. That'll change their mind right quick. After all, it's all really just about money, ain't it?

[40oz]

How long would it take a cop to search your laptop and find pirated software and media? If you branch folder after folder like most people do, instead of just lay it on the desktop like a retard, (or like me) it could take hours for a law officer to find pirated material. Something that seems like a very long and unnecessary process, especially if it's an unsuccessful search for them.

It's like being drug tested except it takes 10x as long and you dont get to use your computer during that time. Very lame indeed.

[AndrewB]

If anyone thinks that a single cop would ever search a single computer or digital device to look for copyrighted material, they're insane. They simply don't have the time or resources to do this and they never will. End of story.

[GreyGhost]

If you teach that same cop how to plug in an RJ45 patch lead and run computer auditing software (the don't have to understand how it works) the inspection regime could work.
As for resources - governments could look to the major copyright owners to provide some at cost - it is after all their interests that are being looked after.

[AndrewB]

GreyGhost said:

As for resources - governments could look to the major copyright owners to provide some at cost - it is after all their interests that are being looked after.

Maybe in a corrupt, privatized police system that would work. Something like Mexico. US or Canada, nah.

[pilottobombadier]

The law won't pass, despite the only protestations in the article coming from Vancouverites - which makes me strongly suspect that it was from MacLean's - aka the Canadian Conservative Propaganda Monthly - aka piss-poor toilet paper.

Aside from the fact that it's impractical, it opens the door very wide for industrial espionage. You can bet your ass that Canada's industrial brass are going to have a fit if they haven't already.

Because a computer or any other kind of data device is essentially a locked car, I think that the only way law enforcement should ever be permitted to take a look is with a warrant - unless they catch you in the act of doing something illegal with it - and the only people that should have a right to view any data that you're downloading (I'm talking about packet inspection, btw) are the ISP and the person that's paying for the connection, IMO - and then the ball's in their court to notify the authorities.

That's the way it should be, anyway.

[herooftime1000]

"Aw crap, a cop is coming to check my laptop...Better hide the porn.

[pilottobombadier]

That's a potentially dangerous way to look at it, hero.

On the opposite side of the coin, the law won't work because it violates our current privacy laws as it is.

all this shows is; a) Harper is exactly what we who didn't vote Conservative thought he was and; b) the entertainment business would rather beat a dead horse than grow up with the times.

[herooftime1000]

I was only joking...

[The Ultimate DooMer]

What I don't get is - who is going to buy all their music etc. legally when no-one's got any money due to the impending global economic depression caused by the price of everything being forced through the roof by the elites? And if copyright law changes like this did come into force, how would the big companies who forced the changes make any money due to the above reason?

I miss fodders.

[caco_killer]

The Ultimate DooMer said:

What I don't get is - who is going to buy all their music etc. legally when no-one's got any money due to the impending global economic depression caused by the price of everything being forced through the roof by the elites?

What depression? If we were really in a depression, GTA4 wouldn't have sold 3.6 million copies the day it was released, and Indiana Jones 4 wouldn't be making even close to a hundred million dollars at the box office.

The music industry is where it is because it sells overpriced shit, and people have been giving options such as I-Tunes and file-sharing where they can get the songs they want and not have to spend $20 to get them.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

It's only in it's early stages atm.