The most effective barrier to the spread of encryption has turned out to be not control but apathy ... [but now] the RIAA is succeeding where 10 years of hectoring by the Cypherpunks failed. The obvious parallel here is with Prohibition, where the essence of the game was hidden transactions,, and reversing the cause did not reverse the effects. The direct effects from the current conflict are going to be minor and over quickly, compared to the shifts in society as a whole. The most profound effects of the music industry's efforts are not about music. This is a proxy war. Ostensibly the fight is about music, but the veil is thin. This is Afghanistan in the 1980s. Are you mujahideen? The RIAA Succeeds Where the Cypherpunks Failed | 
