awk, good point. I agree.
Although I do accept that there is an issue when someone like Hollywood asserts itself aggressively, saying something along the lines of "unless you do (or allow us to do) such and such, you don't get to watch movies."
Sure you get the choice to say No Thank You if the terms seem harsh. But Hollywood acting together through MPAA is the only game in town. So this isn't the kind of situation where the consumer can just pass on to the next supplier who offers the same product and better terms. Essentially you can choose your way out of being able to watch almost any movies in the English language.
I believe underlying this kind of discussion - and hostility - is a sense of powerlessness in the normal democratic processes. How is it that the movie industry is able, say, to stretch copyright protection towards infinity when the best legal and economic minds agree this makes little sense? Because they have the money, of course. And that generates the heat we see.
My clandestine hope is that the distribution possibilities of a trust network break the back of this Hollywood power. Because through the network, theoretically everyone will be able to offer their products to the world eventually. Which means that some of the more benevolent market forces will dictate terms to content producers as well as consumers. But until then, I am a little concerned about the sorts of terms Hollywood may be able to demand - even in the event that I have a choice whether to watch a movie or not.
But that's a lateral point - I suppose resulting from my reading of Seth Schoen's recent paper for EFF.
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