DirecTV Explains How Guilty Until Proven Innocent Makes Sense
from the not-quite-sure-about-that... dept
For quite some time now DirecTV has been sending threatening letters to anyone who bought a smart card programmer, telling them to pay $3,500 or face a court battle. DirecTV doesn't care that there are legal uses for such devices. They simply presume that if you bought such a device, you must want to use it for pirating DirecTV signals, and therefore you need to pay up. Wired Magazine is now asking DirecTV why they believe "guilty until proven innocent" makes sense in these cases. DirecTV's "enforcement chief" says that the burden of proof actually shifts to the user, if the device can be used for illegal purposes. I've certainly never heard that, and I'd like to see what the lawyers have to say on that. If this is true, and I don't believe it is, it would mean that the entertainment industry suddenly has a much stronger case against file sharers. Also, while the interview never really delves into much detail, credit has to be given for interviewer Lucas Graves starting off the interview by asking: "Those $3,500 settlement checks must be generating a nice little revenue stream. Has it put a dent in DirecTV's losses due to piracy?" You can almost see the smirk on his face.
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DirecTV Explains How Guilty Until Proven Innocent
Hmmm...
I wonder if paying the $3,500 makes someone an authorized dealer? Seems like a pretty good investment to me!
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DirecTV, General Motors, and Hughes Electronics
I can not give my friends name yet. But when he lets me I will. Everyone who knows him will be outraged at these three companies.
Please read; A great person is suffering because of their lack of concern for the commend man. Who by the way did nothing wrong.
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DirecTV, General Motors, and Hughes Electronics.
Where do I begin, this group of companies have crippled satellite TV as we know it with their lack of end user knowledge. When they feel threatened they try to kill the competition instead of competing, Like Primestar, and USSB.
They have now started attacking the end users; they must be related to the record companies. I have a friend who is working on time card readers for the computer to track the user’s time for a wide range of products including one of mine. This reader used a card much like a calling card and the card slot on the side of their receivers. This product has nothing to do with Satellite TV any way, shape, or forum.
Now they are suing him for theft of their satellite signal along with Thousands of others.
This man works hard and is honest and would not steel from anyone. They are costing him everything he owns to fight them in court.
He lives very meagerly and asks no buddy for help, they don’t care. This sick group of companies stomps on the end users like bugs. They don’t have a clew who or what they destroy to get their way. My prayers are with my friend I would help, but I can’t I and am an Ex Primestar dealer that is trying to recover from the execution of Primestar.
The funny thing is all they would have had to do was use Primestar encoding it never was hacked. They where in such a hurry to kill that company they did not even look at what they could use. Their encoding was hacked before it hit the customers.
So instead of building it right they attack innocent individuals like my friend.
I laid down the last time they messed with people including myself. But my friend (who will not let me give his name) is the most honest person I know, and would not ask for help.
This is the only way I can help him.
If I can cost them one car sale, or one satellite sale it will make me feel better.
Unfortunately it doesn’t help my friend much.
Lowell Kinnee
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Here is GM's reply:
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Dear Mr. Kinnee,
Thank you for contacting the General Motors Customer Assistance Center. I appreciate you taking the time to write us in regards to your dissatisfaction with General Motors and DirecTV.
Thank you for your recent E-mail. I apologize for any negative feelings that this issue has created towards General Motors. Although DirecTV is a subsidiary of General Motors, we do not dictate the programming that is offered. DirecTV provides the programming necessary to retain market share and consumer interest in all areas. Please direct any concerns or suggestion regarding programming to DirecTV. General Motors does not condone nor support any programming decisions of DirecTV and is not involved in the day to day business decisions made by this company.
If you should need to contact us in the future, simply reply to this message or call our General Motors Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-222-1020. Customer Relationship Managers are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
Again, thank you for contacting General Motors.
Sincerely,
Customer Relationship Manager
General Motors Customer Assistance Center
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Today ,I will be working an a blog, and a webpage to fight for him. This fight has just begun. No hard working American should have to stand alone against these companies.
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RIAA errr DirecTV
Mark Guthrie
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So I can illegally use a car to smash into a building. So now the burden is on me, before I buy a car, to PROVE that I'm not going to use it for that purpose. What nonsense.
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