ALSO BY GLYN MOODY Rebel Code Digital Code of Life How Big Content Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Keep Creators Poor Glyn Moody BTF Press Antwerp, Belgium Walled Culture: How Big Content Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Keep Creators Poor 978-946459495-9 (paperback) 978-946459849-0 (eBook) Published by BTF Press, 2022 [email protected] This worked is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication license. To my family. Contents Foreword � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � i Chapter 1� From Analogue to Digital �����������������������������������������������������������������������������1 Big Content’s plan to take total control online Chapter 2� Hostage Works and Vanishing Ebooks ������������������������������������������������������15 Publishers sue Google and the Internet Archive for sharing knowledge and culture Chapter 3� Aaron Swartz’s Manifesto��������������������������������������������������������������������������41 Making all publicly funded research freely available through open access Chapter 4� Internet Users at Risk ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������73 Napster, three strikes and the Great Internet Blackout Chapter 5� From Scare Tactics to Censorship �������������������������������������������������������������91 Big Content’s wrongful takedowns and Web site blocking Chapter 6� How the European Union Passed Copyright’s Worst New Law ���������������107 Spying on the Internet with upload filters Chapter 7� Digital Monopolies �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������143 Relentless lobbying plus regulatory capture leave artists and the public powerless Chapter 8� Copyright Absurdities ������������������������������������������������������������������������������167 Disobedient computers, rotting films, and Katy Perry’s battle over an ostinato Chapter 9� True Fans Are the Real Solution���������������������������������������������������������������187 Helping creators and culture thrive without Big Content Notes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 207 Index � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 255 Acknowledgments � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 293 About the Author � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 297 Foreword T ragically, the internet is turning from our dreams of a more democratic and open publishing system to one that is increasingly controlled by a shrinking number of international corporations. These corporations, publishers as much as tech companies, are using the connected nature of our technologies to assert new controls that were never possible in the analog era. What is happening? And what can we do to get back on track? Many of us have spent our careers building toward a de- centralized Great Library, where the published works of humankind would be available to those curious enough to want access. Further, this Library would be inclusive of all voices as everyone would have the opportunity to share their works and many would get enough readership to earn a liv- ing. New computer and network technologies would help everyone to sort through the vast troves of information. We have made progress, but we have had setbacks. The internet now connects most people around the world, but countries are starting to block access. Server technology,