Originally posted by: dudeman007
From Kevin Rose...
Today was an insane day. And as the founder of Digg, I just wanted to post my thoughts?
In building and shaping the site I?ve always tried to stay as hands on as possible. We?ve always given site moderation (digging/burying) power to the community. Occasionally we step in to remove stories that violate our terms of use (eg. linking to pornography, illegal downloads, racial hate sites, etc.). So today was a difficult day for us. We had to decide whether to remove stories containing a single code based on a cease and desist declaration. We had to make a call, and in our desire to avoid a scenario where Digg would be interrupted or shut down, we decided to comply and remove the stories with the code.
But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you?ve made it clear. You?d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won?t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be.
If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying.
Digg on,
Kevin
Some comments here suggested that it was unfair for the users to burden Digg with the potential legal ramifications of having this key shown on the site. I believe this had and has nothing to do with the legal trouble it may put Digg in, and more to do with the legal trouble this needs to put the AACS in. These cease-and-desist letters need to be stopped, and stopped very publicly. No corporation should wield the legal power that has been created by the DMCA. The DMCA must end.
I am very disappointed in AnandTech for deciding to delete posts containing the key. Civil disobedience is a very important function of society when dealing with corrupt and unacceptable laws. When your government ceases to represent you, it is imperative that you demonstrate this.