The founders of Digg.com – which has been rocked by an unprecedented user revolt over the release of an HD-DVD decryption code – accepted sponsorship from the organization behind HD-DVD last year. (See also our exclusive new report for the latest news on this issue, and our latest story, which describes how Digg has seen a huge rise in readership during the HD DVD furore ).
Episodes of the DiggNation video show were sponsored by the HD DVD Promotion Group. DiggNation is produced by Revision3, a company run by Digg founders, Jay Adelson and Kevin Rose. Rose is also a co-host of the DiggNation show. The image below shows the HD DVD logo displayed at the beginning of one such episode.
During the past 24 hours, Digg administrators have apparently deleted dozens of stories which included references to the HD DVD decryption code. These included one story which appeared poised to become the most popular ever seen on Digg, with almost 16000 votes within 20 hours. Administrators have also apparently begun deleting stories criticizing their actions, and also banned numerous members – according to angry statements posted by Digg users on the site and elsewhere.
32 Dangerous Hex Digits
The 32 digit hexadecimal code can be used to make copies of HD DVD movies by using software such as BackupHDDVD. A number of websites and individuals have reported that they have been sent legal notices ordering them to remove the code from their servers. These notices have come from US lawyers representing the Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator LLC (AACS LA). Digg itself has not yet issued any statement on the case or its legal situation (but see updates 2 & 4 below).
Digg, one of the world's fastest growing social networking sites, recently celebrated its one millionth user account – although the number of active contributors is believed to be considerably smaller than this figure.
All Digg content is submitted by users, who then vote for the stories they like. The company has made much of the community-administered aspect of the site. However, some users are now complaining that the recent events cast doubt on this.
Update 1: Edited sentence referring to Digg as most popular social networking site - this was incorrect - and clarified number of active users - thanks to visitors who pointed out these errors.
Update 2: Digg co-founder Jay Adelson has now made a comment regarding Digg's position on the HD DVD code, at the official Digg blog.
Update 3: Although this story was submitted to Digg about 9 hours ago and now has more than 400 votes from users, it was apparently prevented from reaching the front page (according to user comments at Digg and below). In addition, some are claiming that Texyt.Com has been banned from Digg story submissions (we'd appreciate if anyone can confirm or refute this claim - OK it's not true, thank you HolgerC). Rudd-o.com and CJMillisock.com, two of the websites that first broke this news on Digg both remain banned from Digg.
Update 4: Digg's Kevin Rose has now posted a blog comment announcing the reversal of Digg's policy on publication of the HD DVD code. As yet, Rose and Adelson do not appear to have explained the removal of numerous stories critical of Digg which did not post or link to the HD DVD code. They also do not appear to have discussed the HD DVD sponsorship they received.
Update 5: Despite its recent public relations disaster, Digg still isn't telling the whole truth about its relationship with the companies behind HD DVD, read more in our exclusive new report.
Update 6: See our latest story: Digg readership doubled by HD DVD fiasco
this isn't gonna be deleted
yeah like digg isn't going to delete this post....
Even if they delete it, the
Even if they delete it, the word is out. I'm sure it's on Reddit too.
The difference is that
The difference is that Reddit didn't squash it and pretend like nothing was going on. Hi by the way, I'm a former digger as of 5 minutes ago. This is my first post on my new favorite news resource.
Welcome to the party, we've
Welcome to the party, we've been waiting for you. O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
I am done with Digg
I am done with Digg also
SQUARE
Digg buried this story
It reached the front page in about 30 minutes, and then was mysteriously buried straight away, surprise surprise!
www.cjmillisock.com
If everyone can, my brother was the first to copy the first blog with information. He then clicked the link to view the code on digg.com but nothing came up. Luckily he already had it opened so he copied it and reposted. Digg finally kicked him out too for awhile. He has has his account back now but you should all go say hi and let him know how much of a hero he really is. His blog is www.cjmillisock.com
Thanks youQQ
An eCard. Send to
A nice eCard. Send to your geeky friends. (3rd eCard on the page) http://www.brainwrench.com/ecards/categories/protest.php
"although the number of
"although the number of active users is believed to be considerably smaller than this figure."
ORLY? I read digg everyday, multiple times a day, and I'm not a registered user, i would be willing to be there are many more out there like me
same here...been an
same here...been an unregistered viewer for ages...
i think they meant 'active
i think they meant 'active users' as users that actively participate in commenting and digging stories. you can't do that if you're not registered.
An unregistered viewer is
An unregistered viewer is not an active user. They are passive in the Digg process.
I joined digg yesterday
I joined digg yesterday after just reading it for several months.
Now I think I'll go elsewhere. It is rotten.
We dont want
F**k you, we dont want people like you anyway.
How very tolerant of you.
How very tolerant of you. Let me guess. You are a person who preaches about tolerance to others. DIGG is notorious for the BURY BRIGADE. Nothing new there.
That genie is out of the bottle. Good luck getting it back in.
Welcome to DeCSS the sequel ;)
Diggs on you
All this for an encryption key?
It's not like the country is going to war or something!
That is the point you idiot!
The next armed revolution is not going to be about land, petroleum or money, its going to be about intelectual property!
are you guys retarded?
are you guys retarded? of course they're taking it off. they're sponsored. and not looking to get sued.
you f**king kids need to open your eyes and take a step into the real world.
wow. you expect us to calls
wow. you expect to call us f***ing kids and "retarded" seriously? O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
re: are you guys retarded?
It's one thing to back down when threatened with liability for an illegal act.
It's another thing to back when threatened with liability for a legal act.
It's another thing entirely to DELETE USERS ACCOUNTS when one could simply block stories that contain those hex digits, revoke commenting or posting privileges, or a million other solutions.
It's also another thing entirely to be the ONLY company on the internet to respond at all to the legal threats. This shows strong support that most people believe this is completely legal. Because it is.
left and right, people are
left and right, people are telling us to take a step into the real world. forget about your ideals, forget about your concepts of fairness, justice and peace, because the world just doesn't work that way.... but why? The only reason is because we keep stepping into the "real" world. the more time passes, the less inclined i am to believe that this "real" world is actually benefitting me in any way.. but i sure as hell see benefits for a select few.
Exactly! F**k the so-called
Exactly! F**k the so-called "real" world. "Real" world can kiss my a**.
Right. Step out into the
Right. Step out into the real world. And change it.
Yes, this is how things
Yes, this is how things happen in the real world. The reason for the backlash and revolt is that a few years ago Kevin would have had first post on something like this. Now, he's bowing to the almighty corporate dollar. sick.
your wrong
we have won on this ground over 20 times in the past 10 years .. look into digital rights management ..or DRM .. it is the same issue just under a different name
the supreme court allowed for this because of legitimate backup purposes.
Given most people who use the decryption software probably don't use it properly however we are still afforded the right to make backup copies for legitimate backup .. and not redistribution under the protection of FEDERAL LAW..
I.E
THEY CAN'T SUE because they have already lost some 20 appeals!
This story is rubbish
The agreement between HD-DVD and digg isn't going to allow HD-DVD or ANY advertiser that they allow on their site any say whatsoever about the stories and content which the digg community make popular.
How do you know its rubbish?
How do you know its rubbish? You work for Digg do you?
HD-DVD Processing Key O9 F9
HD-DVD Processing Key O9 F9 11 O2 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 CO
[Sorry, this post has been censored for legal reasons. The number zero has been replaced with a letter to render the code harmless - Editor]
What a screw up
Digg have handled this very badly. They let the social networking genie out of the bottle and now it turned round and smacked them
I'd recently switched to
I'd recently switched to Reddit anyway since Digg started to kinda suck. Just another nail in the coffin.
Social Distortion
This is an example showing that Digg no longer cares about their whole basis, their users. Their to worried about the good old american dollar to see their their going against everything Digg is about. Kevin and Jay have effectively shaken hands with the devil and sealed their own fates.
Nice to see that Kevin was
Nice to see that Kevin was willing to bend over and take it in the a**e without even researching whether or not the complaint had merit.
It is my understanding that a randomly generated sequence of numbers cannot be classified as "Intellectual property", nor can it be considered a circumvention device since(in programming terms) it has no methods or member functions. There is no logic and no processing. It is simply a number.
I wonder what will happen when this takedown notice is refuted by someone far braver than Mr. Rose and is thereby invalidated. Will Kevin start reinstating accounts and make a statement to that effect?
its about what those numbers
its about what those numbers let you do.
are you aware of (the history of) napster?
The numbers by themselves do
The numbers by themselves do not let you do anything. If anything, they should go after the software tool that actually does the decoding once the key is in place. Like the DeCSS software, it too will fall under the category of a circumvention device. The key itself is nothing more than a randomly generated string of numbers. Completely useless by themselves.
Sad, but true
Precisely my thinking. Regretfully, the precedent has been set. Napster tried to put the blame on the users, so what did the lawyers do? They sued the users. Could Digg allow that?
Good or bad, I think they did the correct thing. Now would not be the time to test our legal system.
test the legal system
NO! now IS the time to test the legal system. If we don't fight this now, when will we fight it, the MPAA is in bed with the government, do you think they will stop at DMCA? Does anyone care that this isn't about fairness but rather serving a small groups financial interests? We must show the legislators that it is not permissible to pander to corporate interests. I have more respect for digg now than I ever did. The amount of hits they generated with the key articles should be able to pay their lawyer fees, which in this rare case is money put to good use: fighting BS copyright laws.
Those numbers are useless
Those numbers are useless without the rest of the information. By themselves they are not capable of doing anything nor are they able to reproduce anything.
You have NO idea what those numbers represent and how they are used or even in what context one would need to use them.
You're a f**king idiot who needs to be dragged outside and hit with a shovel for comparing napster to a small grouping of Hex numbers.
GDIAF
What are you thinking?
I agree, DRM is bull...but it is Intellectual Property, much like a poem, or a song (if you will...a random splurge of characters). It's not just a number, it's a code. A security code. Kinda like your password. Imagine if your passwords were made public, and especially if the passwords to your business were published. Or the security code to your home or business was published.
DRM is wrong, it is a flawed system; but get your "logic" straight.
It was allready published
I hate to point out the obvious but I don't publish my password for people to see.
The HD-DVD decryption keys ARE published and distributed to the public.
How do you think they key was aquired? It would take way to long to brute force something that big or do you claim that pirates have more computing power han exists in the world?
The makers of HD-DVD products (Software and Hardware) put these keys in the product and distribute it to many many people.
If you post your credit card number on your website and then money leaves yor account do you think your bank would still refund you?
If they want the key to be confidential then they should stop sending it to people in the form of HD-DVD players!
They can also not claim it is meant as any kind of user authentication as unlike the codes you get with some software the code is sent to more than just one person.
The HD-DVD manufacturers gave the code to the public, it deserves no protection on the grounds of confidentiality.
And AFAIK, most countries allow small quotes as part of journalism, or are you claiming that 32 letters is too long for a quote, because if so that would cripple quite a lot of news sites.
In summing up:
1. Code cannot be protected as "confiential", it was distributed by the owner on mass with the consent of the parties involved.
2. It can not be considered copyright as it is exempt under journalism and it is only a small extract.
Of course as always: I Am Not A Lawyer
O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8
O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Bottom line is DRM is
Bottom line is DRM is pointless. Ever hear the saying "if it can be played, it can be ripped"? Applied to DRM on music and still applies here. But if you are THAT concerned about people "pirating" your crap movies then I would you hope you'd use more than 16 bytes of HEX to protect it!
16 bytes is a 128 bit key.
16 bytes is a 128 bit key. For symmetric encryption, that's plenty strong.
AACS is a system of keys and protocols, not just a single number. This processing key is one of many intermediate steps which ultimately leads to the "title key" (also 128 bits) that ultimately decrypts the movie. But ultimately it's all based on 128 bit encryption.
If you had to guess the number, even all the computers in the world could not try even a small fraction of 2^128 possible combinations in your lifetime. 16 bytes is plenty!
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000631.html
Of course, guessing isn't necessary. Everything needed to play the movie is on the disc and in the player. Much work has been done to make this difficult, and to allow future discs to not be susceptible to decoding using previously discovered keys. Even this processing key will soon become useless for all future discs.
Total BS. If they had any
Total BS. If they had any rebel in them they wouldn't have put up with it. They would have said "Sorry, it's against our policy to delete stuff. The users decide what to do and what to put up there and if you guys were too stupid as to have lawyers that would list the key in public documents then you have to deal with the consequences of ineptitude so I guess I'll see ya in court. We'll find advertising elsewhere."
But no. Pansies. Slashdot gets the respect on this one for listing the key. Deleting stories and banning accounts is so communist 1953.
Dont forget to join the
Dont forget to join the secret number group on facebook ;)
Listed on Wired web site since Feb 13
Still being shown on the Wired magazine since Feb. 13, 2007.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/02/the_new_hddvdbl.html
Jay and Kevin: go back to
Jay and Kevin: go back to your San Francisco Gay bars.
i think it's good that
i think it's good that diggnation is getting sponsored by bigger companies. I am not a jelous freak.
First time post.
I feel like a rat leaving a sinking ship.
Idiots linking to the HD-DVD crack code are funding terrorism
Would everyone feel this care-free about distributing a 'harmless sequence of numbers' if they were the keys to our nuclear arsenal?
allsux.com/2007/05/01/idiots-linking-to-dvd-hack-code-fund-terrorism/
haha
haha that sucks for digg
I just got outta digg, I'm
I just got outta digg, I'm new in here... mass exodus from digg
I used to think digg was Kool.
I used to think digg was cool, now it is just another elitist swine site that sold its sole to the devil. No wonder digg rhymes with pigg.
This explains the Hd-dvd
This explains the Hd-dvd slant on the show and on the digg website. shame on the digg team for this
Pssh
Lamesauce. They are "rebelling for freedom" on the 'net. It's not freedom... they're rebelling for DVDS. LAMESAUCE. I never say this, but I think they need a break from their pcs. I never say it because I don't want to take the advice. :d
Updates on this story
Go to allsux.com for updates on this story ... sheesh
Base36 is the new Hex
In Base36: L96O54KFN6HZ7PT164DQFLJ4
Digg is just screwing themselves over...
Simply put: the users control digg. I guess it shows now!
Dude, this is so totally
Dude, this is so totally something out of metal gear solid 2 with GW and arsenal gear phasing out information that is of critical importance. holy sh*it!!!!
O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8
O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0? Is that what it is all about?
Well guess what? Here's
Well guess what? Here's another looking for a new website source of info besides Digg. I did go there every day. That will change now that the true colors have been shown.
Digg is down for maintenance!
As of 30 seconds ago.
http://blog.digg.com/?p=74 Ch
http://blog.digg.com/?p=74
Check it out. They've listened and reversed policy. And, the digg site is now down completely. Coincidence? Hmm.
wtf
09 fb 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0
f@@k mpaa
backuphddvd
i just stumbled on to digg
lol once its on the web its always going to be seen
http://blog.digg.com/?p=74
http://blog.digg.com/?p=74
http://digg.com/tech_news/A_W
http://digg.com/tech_news/A_Word_From_Kevin_Rose/
Finally a
Finally a word:
http://digg.com/tech_news/A_Word_From_Kevin_Rose/
Whoops
They screwed up big by the looks of it. Not thinking before acting
They have had a rough day
poor bastards have had a rough day. send them a beer and a smile you heartless mofos :P would you turn on your family so fast?
Instead of accepting their
Instead of accepting their fault Kevin and Jay are now trying to shift the blame and pretending to be heroes, noooooo how can they come out and say they were being paid by the HD-DVD guys?
DIGG DEFINITION ON WIKIPEDIA
Here is a definition of DIGG on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digg
Digg is a community-based popularity website with an emphasis on technology and science articles, recently expanding to a broader range of categories such as politics and entertainment. It combines social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication with a form of non-hierarchical, democratic editorial control.
Someone need to amend this.
Democratic editorial content...What a load of BULL Sh#T.
I thought this was a community based site.
Digg apologises
http://blog.digg.com/?p=74
www.plime.com is out there
www.plime.com is out there
digg sucks.
digg sucks.
hd-dvd
They arent fighting anyone, its back on the front page and they said after seeing what their readers want hey would publish that stuff from now on and face the actions
Digg censorship
This isn't the first instance.
Does anyone remember the way Digg suppressed WTC7 stories ^^
Digg, Facebook, Myspace
Look who owns, runs and controls the media you use.
Big brother is everywhere
There is a dangerous trend in american media that seems to be going on everyday, this digg story is one, Murdoch trying to buy the WSJ is another, and the consolidation of other media venues,. Sad state of things.
Kevin Rose is no different than a fascist dictator
His actions are not much different that the Chinese government squashing anything critical to their regime. I am really perplexed that any free-thinking person living in a free society would support him and even wish he was their president. These are the same fools that cried foul when Google censored search results on behalf of the Chinese government.
Digg is attempting to alter their own history right now. Every story and post critical of their actions have disappeared or are rapidly disappearing.
They are digging their own grave.
Kevin Rose is probably a
Kevin Rose is probably a little different from a fascist dictator. I mean, like no storm troopers or murdering his political opponents, you know, just small differences like that. Heh, no cool uniforms either.
CALM DOWN
TAKE A DEEP BREATH
DIGG IS ONLY A WEBSITE
Bad Little Boys
Would all you little boys complaining about Digg's early action please write an essay in 1,000 words or fewer on the subject 'Our world without intellectual property]'.
See if you can make it work.
I like that term
I like that term "intellectual Property". Applies to Michael Bolton CDs and movies with the Wayans brothers. I mean copyrighted, sure, protected material, okay, but INTELLECTUAL, hardly.
the numbers rock
TAKE THAT MPAA! O9 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 O9 F9 [Grand display of civil disobedience deleted by Admin - yes OK thanks, I think we get the point. please don't fill up the whole page with this stuff - Texyt Admin] C5 63 56 88 C0
I think Bush done it.
I think Bush done it.
immature
I tried digg, its just too immature and stupid for me.
It was two guys drinking to prove they were adults.
Well, know that HD DVD is
Well, know that HD DVD is done and over with, I guess they dont have to worry about this much. -Tom
DIGG
I tried digg, its just too immature and stupid for me.