[xg15]

I'm not a fan of paywalls and believe a user should be allowed to do what they want with the data the browser downloads - but in general "if they really cared, they'd do more to stop me" is not how you should approach questions of legality.

[h2onock]

I've paid for my internet connection and content that they willingly put on their server without any security protection has been downloaded to my computer. Now that I have that content I'll read it if I want to.

[purple-again]

Try that with money accidentally put into your bank account.

You can keep repeating it over your shoulder to the judge as you are marched to prison for theft if you take it and can’t replace it.

Try that with a piece of mail that was sent to your house on accident. It’s a federal crime to open that envelope. The law doesn’t care that it was delivered to you.

Try removing the DRM from your DVD and making a copy of ‘your data’ on the disk you bought. A federal crime has been committed.

In this instance I would guess no laws are broken because no one powerful enough to make it illega has cared enough about the tiny fraction of people able to get around their tricks yet.

[h2onock]

I think you're sort of comparing chalk with cheese there. I see what you're saying to a point but we're talking about a bit of text on a web page that's in the public domain, not money or copyrighted media. Last time I checked, it's legal to make a copy for personal use anyway isn't it? If I bought a DVD and wanted to convert it for playback on my iPad I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go to jail for it.

[xg15]

Absolutely - and in the given case, it's perfectly fine to do so because it's in fact legal (to my knowledge).

However, if you e.g. wanted to record a Netflix stream from the EME applet on their website, you could argue the same moral justifications - however, now you'd be breaking a law (circumvention of protection devices) and it wouldn't be legal, no matter how stupid the law is.

[h2onock]

Haha fair point... recording a Netflix stream from the EME applet is quite a bit different to simply clicking on a link to visit a url though isn't it, in the same way that breaking into a bank vault is a bit different to finding a £1 coin on on the floor.

[crispyporkbites]

Isn’t the paywall a protection device which you are circumventing? Legally it’s no different

[s73v3r_]

"I've paid for my internet connection"

Your internet connection bill is not the same as the bill for the content.