Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Siva's Response to a Senate Staffer on the p2p question,

"I have too much to say about p2p. And my opinions are beyond the pro and con simplifications that get laid out in newspapers...

...Copyright is by design a leaky regulatory system. If the leaks are too big, copyright fails to generate incentives. If they are too small, copyright fails to allow for democratic creativity and sharing -- the essence of culture. So managing leaks is important. But freaking out about them is counterproductive. So far, the content industries have been better at freaking than managing. And we are all worse off because of that...

...The best way to approach this issue is through serious and sincere ethical deliberation. That means avoiding harsh moralizing, threats of criminal or civil action, and blunt technological moves that will only create more problems and ill-will. The goal should be flourishing democratic culture and creativity. It should not be the artificial support of poorly run media companies. Nor should it be the unfettered proliferation of machines and code for the sake of more machines and code. We must be modest and patient -- an unpopular stance in this age of extremes."

Beautifully put.

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