As a team, we have the power to give DirecTV all the bad publicity they deserve. [Archive]

To The Real King!!

July 27th, 2002, 01:04 PM

Hi aj666,

I could not agree with you more. People can have a tremendous impact on a thing like this IF enough write in.

If you like, post the letter here and I will make it rather generic and post it on legal-rights.org along with the addresses and perhaps we can really get something going here.

People have a hard time authoring a letter but when something is posted they can easily modify it to fit the circumstances and they will send it in and cooperate a lot. But the easier we make it for folks to do, the better the results we will get. If you don't mind, just post ii in this threat without any ID and I will get it up on legal rights right awayhttp://www.legal-rights.org/images/ttrk.gif

And then post any quantity of appropriate E-mail addresses and I will get them on a list. If people Cut & Paste them into the BCC field on their E-mail program, it will send the letter to everyone on the list. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy and they all get it addressed individually from the sender. Its a great way to mail the same letter to many different folks. All the individual addrsses have to be separated by a COMMA or "," and they all go out.

I also have some GREAT helpers like 1 crazy canuck who will get the project going on several other sites as well so that they REALLY start getting lots of these love letters. When there is a LOT of them, they wont ignore it either.

LETS REALLY GET A CAMPAIGN GOING HERE

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Thanks & Good Luck,
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To The REAL King!!

Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth!
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.

ex-subscriber

July 29th, 2002, 03:29 PM

Thank you aj666 for posting your letter. I think you have come up with an excellent idea here, and i appreciate the letter you have posted. I have also written a letter which i have included. It is specifically addressed to Bill O'Reilly, but it can be modified to whoever the recipient is. It is not meant as a replacement to aj's letter, but it is simply another example. Maybe others can submit letters too, and we can combine the best aspects from each letter into one "super letter" that will help us generate the most interest for our cause. Here is the letter...

Dear Mr. O’Reilly:

I am writing to you to alert you to some concerns I have regarding DirecTV and how that company is conducting its business. I am sure you are aware that DirecTV is faced with the problem of piracy of its broadcast signal. This is a serious problem that undoubtedly costs DirecTV millions of dollars annually in lost revenue. DirecTV employs several different methods to combat signal piracy. Historically, DirecTV has utilized what is referred to as "electronic countermeasures" (ECM) to combat the theft of it’s signal. Simply put, an ECM is a string of computer code that DirecTV transmits in it’s satellite signal. This computer code is received by set-top boxes where it is "read" by a "smart card." DirecTV uses these smart cards to provide television programming to its subscribers. Unfortunately, "satellite pirates" have discovered how to alter these smart cards to enable unobstructed viewing of ALL of DirecTV’s televised programming without purchasing a subscription to DirecTV. Thus, DirecTV began transmitting these ECM’s, which are intended to render altered smart cards useless in the reception of the DirecTV transmission. While the ECM’s are effective at achieving this goal in the short run, the pirates have been very effective at figuring out ways around the ECM’s and other methods DirecTV has employed to combat the piracy.

The smart cards to which I have referred look identical to a common credit card, except that theses smart cards contain a small computer chip. It is this feature which makes smart cards effective in the DirecTV system, and it is this feature which allows the smart card to be altered. Now, please forgive me Mr. O’Reilly as I am not a technical person, but these smart cards are communicated with via computers. There is a platform that is used to communicate with these cards, and that platform is called ISO-7816. To accomplish the communication, one must have an ISO-7816 compliant smart card "reader." This is a piece of computer hardware. The cards are communicated to via specially written software used in conjunction with a smart card reader. The satellite pirates use standard ISO-7816 smart card readers and their own specially written software to accomplish the goal of altering DirecTV smart cards.

As previously stated, DirecTV has primarily used ECM’s to combat the piracy of its signal in the past. However, approximately one year ago, DirecTV started using a different approach. DirecTV targeted various companies that it concluded were in the sole business of selling the ISO-7816 compliant hardware devices to satellite pirates. DirecTV worked with law enforcement agencies and courts to "raid" several of these businesses, which had been targeted. In these raids, DirecTV confiscated the inventory and business records from these businesses. Subsequently, DirecTV began hiring various law firms across the country to send out letters to the individuals whose names appeared on the confiscated lists as being persons who bought ISO-7816 compliant hardware devices from these businesses. These letters accuse the recipient of being in possession of an illegal device, which is solely useful in the stealing of the DirecTV satellite signal. Furthermore, the letters accuse the recipients of engaging in the act of stealing the DirecTV satellite signal. These accusations are based wholly on the records DirecTV obtained that indicate that a purchase of the ISO-7816 hardware device was made. The letters go on to demand that the recipients admit guilt in stealing the satellite signal, and also to pay restitution to DirecTV for the theft. The letters warn that if the recipients fail to comply, then further action will be taken including the filing of civil suits.

Mr. O’Reilly, up to this point, it would appear as though I have laid out a general history of how DirecTV has incurred loss due to the theft of its signal, and how DirecTV has responded in a reasonable and logical manner to this threat. However, I would like to continue and add some more facts that have caused me great concern as to how DirecTV is conducting itself.

I would like to point out that there are many, many other uses for smart card technology in addition to its use in satellite television. For example, American Express currently uses this technology as a security feature in its credit card business. The United States military is currently in the process of implementing this technology to replace "dog tags" for identification purposes. On a consumer level, Microsoft and many other software companies sell items such as "Smart Card Tool Kits" which allow consumers to work with smart cards. The list goes on and on. This technology appears to be the "wave of the future," and it would appear to be a very promising area for industrious individuals who are looking for emerging technologies to develop applications for on their own.

In each of the above cases I just listed, the one constant that is central to all of them, and that is central to DirecTV, and that is central to all smart card technology, is that in order for any of the above applications to work, they must all use the ISO-7816 platform to work with the smart cards. This means that they will ALL require the use of an ISO-7816 compliant hardware device. A simple internet search reveals many companies who sell these devices. Among these companies are businesses that primarily sell the devices to the population of satellite pirates. After a minimal of investigation, it is readily apparent that the companies who primarily sell the devices to satellite pirates, offer the devices at prices that are well below those of more "legitimate businesses." As a result, many who are in the market for an ISO-7816 compliant hardware device choose to purchase from one of these businesses that primarily cater to the satellite pirates.

Many different instances are well documented on discussion boards across the internet where individuals have purchased the ISO-7816 compliant hardware devices from the companies that DirecTV targeted and later raided. The individuals in these instances had no intention of EVER stealing DirecTV’s broadcast signal. However, these individuals have received the same letters from DirecTV’s attorneys, which accuse them of satellite piracy. They have received these letters merely because their names appeared on the customer lists of raided companies. This is alarming to me, and it has caused me great concern.

Apparently, DirecTV has deemed that ALL ISO-7816 compliant hardware devices can only be used to perform the illegal act of stealing DirecTV’s signal, despite the many clear-cut legal uses for such devices. DirecTV has launched an all out legal assault on the individuals whose names they have confiscated. In many cases these individuals are completely innocent of any wrongdoing, as the ISO-7816 compliant devices are not illegal to possess, and these individual have never used the devices to assist in the theft of the DirecTV signal. However, many of these individuals are settling with DirecTV out of pure economic need. Unfortunately, it is less costly to simply settle this matter than it is to fight it in court. There are a few who are currently pursuing this matter in court; however, it is very early in the process, and it appears that there will be no legal ruling on this matter for quite some time.

Mr. O’Reilly, I firmly believe that DirecTV’s tactics in this matter are out of control. There are many, many others who share my views on this matter. DirecTV is a huge corporation that is bullying the American people with these harassing and accusatory letters. While DirecTV certainly has every right to protect its signal from piracy, I believe that right should not extend to the point of accusing all purchasers of ISO-7816 compliant hardware devices of being criminals, but that is exactly what is occurring. I have long admired your sense of fairness and reasonableness when discussing important issues that affect our society. For this reason, I have chosen to write to you to present my concerns and to alert you to this travesty. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Ex-Subscriber

P.S. Here is a link to a copy of the letter that DirecTV has been sending out to purchasers of completely legal ISO-7816 compliant devices:

http://www.legal-rights.org/DTV/DTVEUDG.html

Here is a link to a website with much information regarding this matter...

http://www.legal-rights.org/DTVBOX.html