Re: RealNetworks is spying on Internet users again

From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Tue May 30 2000 - 12:33:57 MDT


"Ross A. Finlayson" wrote:

> Spike Jones wrote:
> > We each need to figure out how much information freedom we are
> > comfortable with, do we not? There are those on this list who feel
> > that all information should be freeeee, so to them I say fine: freeeee
> > your own first. I have been toying with this notion myself, to go
> > ahead and open my own hard disks for anyone who cares to see,
> > including financial records, tax records, medical, driving, scholastic,
> > employment, everything and anything. If I did that, then I would be
> > perfectly comfortable downloading free stuff.
> >
> > Seems like if they offered some free software and you took the
> > action to download it, whatever it wants to do is fair game. spike
>
> I will disagree with you on that, although you are perhaps being sarcastic. What
> this kind of software is commonly called is a Trojan, referring to the Trojan
> Horse, in that it purports to be some kind of program when it has in fact a
> different, unadvertised, function that its users would normally not want and which
> might be damaging to them.

Ah, but is it unadvertised? I'll bet there are clauses in the user agreement that
specifically grant RealNetworks the right to do this. If its not, I'd rather see a
class action than legislation. Laws should be passed only when civil litigation fails
to redress a wrong.



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