One could make the case that judges don't generally understand technology, and it would be a valid one. Yet I think this points to a deeper and much older issue.
It's the difference between the "letter of the law" and the "spirit of the law". Obviously the intent was to make the Pirate Bay Web site unreachable. Obviously such an oversight was unintended. Yet the ISPs receive very specific instructions and are only looking after their own financial interests by following them to the letter.
The US is becoming a nation of damned Pharisees. The entire system is run by lawyers whose interests include making law as incomprehensible and inaccessible to the average person as possible. That's how they make themselves indisposable and advance their diabolical profession. I think most nations have gone down this road. I don't live in Belgium but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they were also this way. So we can laugh at this judge who probably looks pretty stupid right now, making rules for what he so clearly does not understand, but the deeper problems it brings up are neither easy to solve nor limited to Belgium.
I sort of agree, but sometimes it is fun to find workarounds in for example rules that unnecessarily restrict people in what they can do. I've done things like that with the StVZO bicyle lighting rules (from Germany) on my website, because the rules as they are, are very strict and limit getting more power out of the dynamo, but the intent of the law was different: In particular to ensure interoperability of components and make sure oncoming traffic does not get blinded by light above the horizon. So, taking the spirit of the law I wanted to circumvent the letter of the law, and I give some examples on how to do it. This is the exact opposite of this situation. So I would argue that sometimes there are cases where it's useful (Note that it could take many many years before there is a sane rule change which would allow what I proposed in bicycle headlamps)
Now I come the spirit of the law: If the judge wants to block access to the piratebay, why doesn't he in his ruling say: "Providers should where technically possible not allow access to 'The pirate bay', this includes no access to the domains www.thepiratebay.org etc.". In that case it would be much clearer in giving examples, and taking the spirit of the law into it. Going around that would definitely show a breaking of the law (spirit and letter) or rather a ruling on the law, by a provider.
Classic problem (Score:5, Insightful)
It's the difference between the "letter of the law" and the "spirit of the law". Obviously the intent was to make the Pirate Bay Web site unreachable. Obviously such an oversight was unintended. Yet the ISPs receive very specific instructions and are only looking after their own financial interests by following them to the letter.
You see t
Re:Classic problem (Score:2)
I sort of agree, but sometimes it is fun to find workarounds in for example rules that unnecessarily restrict people in what they can do. I've done things like that with the StVZO bicyle lighting rules (from Germany) on my website, because the rules as they are, are very strict and limit getting more power out of the dynamo, but the intent of the law was different: In particular to ensure interoperability of components and make sure oncoming traffic does not get blinded by light above the horizon. So, taking the spirit of the law I wanted to circumvent the letter of the law, and I give some examples on how to do it. This is the exact opposite of this situation. So I would argue that sometimes there are cases where it's useful (Note that it could take many many years before there is a sane rule change which would allow what I proposed in bicycle headlamps)
Now I come the spirit of the law: If the judge wants to block access to the piratebay, why doesn't he in his ruling say: "Providers should where technically possible not allow access to 'The pirate bay', this includes no access to the domains www.thepiratebay.org etc.". In that case it would be much clearer in giving examples, and taking the spirit of the law into it. Going around that would definitely show a breaking of the law (spirit and letter) or rather a ruling on the law, by a provider.
Re: (Score:2)
URL please.