statism watch

Flashback: Associated Press Tries To DRM The News

Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com
August 5, 2009

A few weeks ago, after the AP announced its plans to crack down on people who it felt were linking/excerpting too much, we suggested that Reuters should speak up and respond to the AP’s position by encouraging linking and sharing of news. It appears that Chris Ahearn, President, Media at Thomson Reuters, has taken us up on the offer, writing a nice little manifesto: Why I believe in the link economy. And, of course, helping to prove that, he linked to a bunch of other sites — including our original blog post asking him to make a statement just like this (in contrast, by the way, while I’ve been quoted multiple times by the AP, I’m pretty sure they’ve never linked to Techdirt in an article). His post is pretty much exactly what I’d hoped Reuters (or others) would say (though, Ahearn is better at being diplomatic about the AP). Here are some key excerpts:

The Internet isn’t killing the news business any more than TV killed radio or radio killed the newspaper. Incumbent business leaders in news haven’t been keeping up. Many leaders continue to help push the business into the ditch by wasting “resources” (management speak for talented people) on recycling commodity news. Reader habits are changing and vertically curated views need to be meshed with horizontal read-around ones.

Blaming the new leaders or aggregators for disrupting the business of the old leaders, or saber-rattling and threatening to sue are not business strategies — they are personal therapy sessions. Go ask a music executive how well it works.

Exactly. There’s been too much misdirected blame placed on the internet, even though the internet has never been the problem. Not keeping up with what readers want is where the mistakes have been made.

I believe in the link economy. Please feel free to link to our stories — it adds value to all producers of content. I believe you should play fair and encourage your readers to read-around to what others are producing if you use it and find it interesting.

I don’t believe you could or should charge others for simply linking to your content. Appropriate excerpting and referencing are not only acceptable, but encouraged.

That’s basically exactly what I had suggested Reuters say… so that’s great. Once again, this makes me want to look for Reuters alternatives to any AP story I happen to come across.

Of course, I don’t agree with everything Ahearn has to say, though I do agree with the overall spirit of what he’s saying. He talks about the need to agree “on a code of conduct and ethics.” I’m not against the concept, I just don’t see how it’s possible or even necessary. These things tend to sort themselves out. Players who are “bad actors” become obvious over time. Good players get rewarded for it, and you deal with some questionable players on the margin. Rather than worrying about what everyone else is doing, why not just focus on providing more value yourself?

Then there’s this:

Let’s identify how we can birth it and agree what is “fair use” or “fair compensation” and have a conversation about how we can work together to fuel a vibrant, productive and trusted digital news industry. Let’s identify business models that are inclusive and that create a win-win relationship for all parties.

The thing is, the law says what’s fair use, not any voluntary agreement. And “fair compensation” isn’t determined by everyone chatting (that could be seen as collusion, actually), but in the market actually doing deals. I’m all for discussions on positive business models that are inclusive and create win-win relationships. That’s why we highlight examples of that all the time around here. But I don’t think discussing good business models means getting an entire industry to agree to use them ahead of time. For better or for worse (well, I’d argue for better), the world just doesn’t work that way. The win-win business models are being developed already — and that’s great. Let’s keep looking at those success stories, and pull out the important lessons from them — but that doesn’t mean everyone “agreeing” to things beforehand. Unfortunately, that’s just not going to happen. There are too many vested interests to make it work. But the nice thing is that those who don’t figure it out get swept out with the tide.

Source | See Also under Media: Former copyright lobbyist is Obama’s top pick for US Attorney | UK ISPs condemn Internet surveillance plans | Can The Public Be Heard On Copyright Issues? | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | iPods, Internet won’t end dictatorship | Canadian defends anti-medicare ad | Copyright Consultation Launches: Time For Canadians To Speak Out | Third stab at copyright law ‘reform’ to kick off with consultations | Facebook violates privacy law: watchdog | Don’t regulate traffic management, Internet providers argue | French Senate passes revamped ‘anti-piracy’ bill | Lazy Hacker and Little Worm Set Off Korean Cyberwar Media Frenzy | 2010 Olympic security plans include ‘free speech’ zones | Net Neutrality hearings begin with conflicting claims | Federal website changes undermine Iraq resisters: critics | Internet speed control faces scrutiny at CRTC hearings | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Information commissioner quits, Ottawa chided for lacking ‘guts’ | Top court to hear ‘Adscam’ media gag order challenge | Pirate Bay Retrial Denied | Afghan Airstrike Video Goes Down the Memory Hole | ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill | The dawn of Internet censorship in Germany | ABC Turns Programming Over To Government to Promote State Healthcare Agenda | Twitter emerges as news source during Iran media crackdown | UK plans to integrate ‘cybersecurity’ centre with US, Canada | Prepare to be boarded! Pirate Party wins entry to European Parliament | Time to slay Canadian file-sharing myths | CRTC keeps new media exempt from broadcasting regulation | Canadian copyright lobbyists leaned on “independent” researchers to change report on file-sharing | China begins internet ‘blackout’ ahead of Tiananmen anniversary | UK chases Obama on cybersecurity | Cybersecurity Is Framework For Total Government Regulation & Control Of Our Lives | Think tank plagiarizes, pulls report on Canadian piracy | Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate | Top court reserves decision in reporter confidentiality case | Don’t let media shield ‘criminals’, hearing told | Supreme Court to rule on ‘tidal-wave’ of press freedom cases | Next up for France: police keyloggers and Web censorship | Our man at Bilderberg: Let’s salt the slug in 2010 | Guardian reporter detained for taking picture of sea near Bilderberg conference | Reversing himself, Obama seeks to block abuse photos | Canadian military to spam Afghan’s cell phones | Canadian Parliament Threatens People For Posting Video Of Proceedings Online | 2 Billion Infected? WHO Stokes Swine Flu Fear | EU wants ‘Internet G12′ to govern cyberspace | Political Lies and Media Disinformation regarding the Swine Flu Pandemic | Canada placed on USA copyright blacklist | National Post columnist covers architect’s presentation at 9/11 truth event | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Jail terms for Pirate Bay founders, appeal in works | Put NSA in Charge of Cyber Security, Or the Power Grid Gets It | Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter | Aussies Announce $31B National Broadband Network | Should Obama Control the Internet? | Cybersecurity law would give feds unprecedented net control | Munk Centre researchers discover botnet, call for international cyberspace ‘legal regime’ | Ottawa considering aid for private broadcasters | ISOHunt points out Google, Yahoo torrent engines too | Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets | Internet ad tracking system will put a ’spy camera’ in the homes of millions, warns founder of the web | Australian web censorship plan to begin trial despite house opposition | US Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police | Time to regulate online content, cultural groups tell CRTC | UK: Calling the police to account for anti-photography law | Do We Need a New Internet? | 24 star Keifer Sutherland opposed to torture, questions role of series in inspiring interrogations | Britain unveils plans for nationalized internet service | Publication ban law too broad, top Ontario court rules | Toronto School Board to ‘review’ The Handmaid’s Tale on one parent’s complaint | UK Culture secretary wants international age restrictions for web | Latest Round of Closed-Door ACTA Copyright Negotiations Wrap Up | CRTC Internet regulation proposals take shape | Afghan war boosts recruiting | Tribunal shouldn’t police online hate, report says | Bell can squeeze downloads, CRTC rules | Bad news bearers warned to zip it by Kremlin | UK MPs seek to censor the media | Copyright treaty consultation process snubs public | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Microsoft patents web moderator robots, forbidden phrases to be memory-holed | US military targets social nets | UK Shortly to Become Worse Surveillance Society than Stasi East Germany | CRTC to consider Internet regulation, invites public comment | UK Security services want personal data from sites like Facebook | RCMP to helm a Canadian “cyber-security strategy” | Is an Internet tax coming? | Liberal candidate asked to step down over 9/11 comments | ‘Einstein’ replaces ‘Big Brother’ in Internet surveillance | Digital rights groups sue for access to secret ACTA treaty | Berners-Lee W3C Consortium to ‘Authorize’ Website Content? | Comedian begins asking Harper question, cuffed by RCMP | Critics waging a cyber offensive to fight copyright changes | Ezra Levant: How I beat the fatwa, and lost my freedom | Law Professor tells tech conference: plans to shut down Internet already on deck | Public left out of anti-counterfeiting trade talks | Vint Cerf blasts ISPs for choking off internet infrastructure | Bush approves surveillance bill | Bell’s internet throttling illegal, Google says | All speech is free in Canada except speech we happen to hate | Human rights body to consider Internet speech regulation | Blogger arrests hit record high | Net neutrality bill hits House of Commons | Information lockdown: How Harper Controls the Spin | Secretive Canadian spy agency to get $62-million HQ | CRTC revisits Internet oversight | Canada Considering “Three Strikes and You’re Out” ISP Policy | Ontario’s spooky thought police | Oilsands Censorship Story Casts Doubt On Neutrality Of CBC Reporting | Military warns soldiers not to post info on Facebook | Harper to create government-run media centre: report | 9/11 – the big cover-up? | Cheney Orders Media To Sell Attack On Iran | The Death of Canadian Journalism | The Lies that Led to War | Prepackaged News

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 10:46 pm and is filed under media, prohibitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.