*shrugs* (Score 1)

From the governments (not run by the brightest individuals) perspective the current laws need to be changed After all most of them don't know anything about computers or the internet, they only know what they are told/hear. Major copy write holders have the power and influence to bring it to their attention that their music, software, etc is being pirated. The politicians see this happening and think there must be some problem with the current law(s), so with the encouragement of the RIAA and other organizations they pass new laws that satisfy them. Then RIAA is now happy, but others aren't, so now they complain to the politicians that the laws are unfair. The politicians just see them as whining because they can't get free music anymore and don't take their complaints seriously, and there aren't that many of them either. So DMCA like laws get passed, and anyone who complains is viewed as thief because they just want to keep pirating. It's not true but, that's the way it is. After the government has been told that the current laws are unfair and changed them, they are told that the new laws are unfair. Well its easier to just be wrong once, so the new laws stay. The DMCA is not fair to programmers/developers. The current laws aren't fair for copy write holders either though. The RIAA does have a point, most people who use napster pirate music; most people with CD burners pirate the music onto CD's. It's not free speech and weather or not it promotes CD sales, if the artists don't want it distributed for free it is illegal. The government goes with the law that helps it the most. With DMCA like laws, pirating is lessened; therefore they get more money in taxes and make the industry and their lobby groups happy. The industry is organized, those is opposition to DMCA laws are not, they have less political power (no lobby groups) and because the corporations got to the government first, they think they are thieves. Neither law is fair.