DRM

A UK internet service provider is in the headlines today for sending warning letters to customers suspected of downloading copyrighted music files. No-one has been threatened with being cut off, or with legal action, but as we report in this week's issue, a new agreement before the G8 could make such punitive measures much more likely.The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was dreamed up by the US in late 2007, and will eventually become international law if G8 heads of government in Japan next week support it.

UPDATED Thursday 1500: The BBC now says it has issued a fix for the iPlayer hack mentioned below, but the post still stands as a cautionary tale...

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Such is the desperation of the BBC to grab a pinch of Apple fairy dust that the corporation has hurriedly released a version of its TV-streaming iPlayer that gives away its programmes without copy protection.