People power forces site to reveal code

A popular technology news website has chosen to brave the wrath of big business and let its contributors publish a code that breaks the copy protection locks on next generation DVDs.Digg.com, a US-based site that ranks news articles by popularity, had issued a notice on May 1 saying it would delete items that published a hacked encryption key on the new high definition DVD format.

However, a cascade of posts and reposts of the code has since forced Digg to give in to popular protest and let its contributors continue posting the code. The user revolt has been described as an online equivalent of the Boston Tea Party, with users staging a mass protest against the imposition of corporate law.

The consortium behind the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), which is designed to restrict the copying of HD DVDs, said the publication of the code infringed the group's intellectual property rights. In the lead-up to Digg's announcement, the AACS Licence Authority threatened legal action through take-down notices issued to a number of websites that had published the code.

In a special post on the site, Digg founder Kevin Rose admitted he had been overwhelmed and announced the website would wear the consequences of tolerating user action.

"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,'' Mr Rose wrote.

"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.''

Digg said it occasionally stepped in to remove stories that violated its terms of use such as links to pornography, illegal downloads and racial hate sites. But the website has now opted to follow popular opinion despite potential legal ramifications. Mr Rose said Digg would not delete stories or comments containing the code and would deal with the consequences, whatever they might be. "If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying.''