A 27-Second Video Showing How To 'Hack' The NYT Paywall
Found on Techdirt on Monday, 27 June 2011
We've discussed many times just how easy it is to get around the NY Times' paywall. I've never run up against it because I don't have javascript enabled, and the whole system is javascript based.
Of course, now that the paywalls been out for a while, people are finding even more ways to get around the paywall, including merely removing the string at the end of the URL.
I'm wondering if just this video alone violates the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause.
If any consquences should come from this, then the creators of that paywall should be fired. They came up with the most idiotic solution ever to "protect" the content. It would be simple to create a real member section, but then Google and other search engines won't index the NYT anymore. They are aware of the fact that this would effectively kill their newspaper because it can not compete with free news. It would be fun to see them trying to sue the creator of that video under the DMCA anti-circumvention clause.