Cable Co's, traps, oh my....

[STC]

I give up lol.

[richard1980]

But what obligation does the provider have to ensure that, during normal operation of my set, I don't see such channels?

Keep going...

It's covered in 47 U.S.C. § 560:

"Upon request by a cable service subscriber, a cable operator shall, without charge, fully scramble or otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of each channel carrying such programming so that one not a subscriber does not receive it."

Of course, the FCC's ban on encrypting the basic service tier supersedes this.

[staknhalo]

He knows it's illegal guys. He's just trying to troll everyone.

[Venom51]

It's illegal to walk a lion on a leash down main street in Davie,Florida.

[STC]

Really? I must stop doing that then.

[adam1991]

But what obligation does the provider have to ensure that, during normal operation of my set, I don't see such channels?

Keep going...

It's covered in 47 U.S.C. § 560:

"Upon request by a cable service subscriber, a cable operator shall, without charge, fully scramble or otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of each channel carrying such programming so that one not a subscriber does not receive it."

Of course, the FCC's ban on encrypting the basic service tier supersedes this.

OK, to clarify:

* I request the most basic tier, 15 channels. I pay my $12/month for that. That is my request.

* Cableco sends 75 channels down the pipe. The know that any TV can view those 75 channels. They choose not to trap those channels. That is their business decision.

Please tell me, according to the law you quoted above, exactly *who* is in violation of the law here?

[adam1991]

BTW, there are LOTS of laws on the books. It doesn't mean that anyone gives two hoots about them.

And if the BUSINESS ITSELF chooses to do certain things in a manner that may be in violation of a written law but is otherwise profitable to them...

[richard1980]

Remember, two wrongs don't make a right. According to the law, your cable company may be in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 560 (if a subscriber has requested the block...if no subscriber has requested the block, then the cable company is not obligated to block anything). However, regardless of whether or not the cable company is doing anything wrong or not, that does not automatically give you the right to violate 47 U.S.C. § 605 and 18 U.S.C § 2511.

Think about it this way: The DMCA makes it illegal to hack copy protection on a DVD. The only way to make a copy of a copy protected DVD is to hack the copy protection. Now if the DVD doesn't have copy protection, you can physically make a copy of the DVD without hacking any copy protection, but that doesn't mean you are legally allowed to do so. It's still copyright infringement (and no, it's not fair use in any circumstances until a court decides it is...as copyright law is written today, it is still a copyright violation). So even though the copyright owner didn't take steps to prevent you from making the copy, it's still illegal for you to do so. The same thing applies here. Even though the cable company didn't take steps to prevent you from viewing channels you don't pay for, it's still illegal to do so.

[richard1980]

Additionally, I think you would be hard pressed to prove the cable company was violating 47 U.S.C. § 560. Every cable company that I know of actively tries to prevent unauthorized viewing of their content, but there are just so many connections it's impossible to maintain 100% security 100% of the time. Basically, you'd have to prove the cable company is making no effort whatsoever to secure the connections.

[blueiedgod]

So, if you say that "transfer of ownership without the concent of the owner" of material things is theft, but same process for immaterial things, such as cable feed is not, does that mean that if you have a let's say router that I happen to know the password to (or you never changed the settings from factory), and I log in and use your internet without paying you, or telling you, am I not stealing from you?

According to you, I am not stealing from you.