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→Other examples: 01101110 01101111 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101001 01101100 01101100 01100101 01100111 01100001 01101100 01101001 01110100 01111001
Tag: Reverted
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Not really, and gray is a color anyway. Undid revision 1182436936 by 2A00:23C5:FE56:6C01:1997:BC3E:F8E4:5C5B (talk)
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{{Short description|Number representing illegal information}} |
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{{Short description|A number that represents information which is illegal in some legal jurisdiction}} |
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[[File:Sample 09-F9 protest art, Free Speech Flag by John Marcotte.svg|thumb|right|225px|[[Free Speech flag]], from the [[AACS encryption key controversy|HD DVD AACS]] case]] |
[[File:Sample 09-F9 protest art, Free Speech Flag by John Marcotte.svg|thumb|right|225px|[[Free Speech flag]], from the [[AACS encryption key controversy|HD DVD AACS]] case]] |
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An '''illegal number''' is a number that represents information which is illegal to possess, utter, propagate, or otherwise transmit in some [[legal jurisdiction]]. Any piece of digital information is representable as a number; consequently, if communicating a specific set of information is illegal in some way, then the number may be illegal as well.<ref name="carmody2">{{cite web |first=Phil |last=Carmody |title=An Executable Prime Number? |url=http://fatphil.org/maths/illegal.html |access-date=December 30, 2018 |quote=Maybe I was reading something between the lines that wasn't there, but if arbitrary programs could be expressed as primes, the immediate conclusion is that all programs, including ones some people wished didn't exist, can too. I.e. the so called 'circumvention devices' of which my previous prime exploit was an example.}}</ref><ref name="reg20010319">{{cite news |first=Thomas C. |last=Greene |title=DVD descrambler encoded in 'illegal' prime number |work=[[The Register]] |date=March 19, 2001 |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/03/19/dvd_descrambler_encoded_in_illegal/ |quote=The question, of course, is whether an interesting number is illegal merely because it can be used to encode a contraband program. |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://primes.utm.edu/glossary/page.php?sort=Illegal |title=The Prime Glossary: illegal prime |quote=The bottom line: If distributing code is illegal, and these numbers contain (or are) the code, doesn't that make these number illegal? |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> |
An '''illegal number''' is a number that represents information which is illegal to possess, utter, propagate, or otherwise transmit in some [[legal jurisdiction]]. Any piece of digital information is representable as a number; consequently, if communicating a specific set of information is illegal in some way, then the number may be illegal as well.<ref name="carmody2">{{cite web |first=Phil |last=Carmody |title=An Executable Prime Number? |url=http://fatphil.org/maths/illegal.html |access-date=December 30, 2018 |quote=Maybe I was reading something between the lines that wasn't there, but if arbitrary programs could be expressed as primes, the immediate conclusion is that all programs, including ones some people wished didn't exist, can too. I.e. the so called 'circumvention devices' of which my previous prime exploit was an example.}}</ref><ref name="reg20010319">{{cite news |first=Thomas C. |last=Greene |title=DVD descrambler encoded in 'illegal' prime number |work=[[The Register]] |date=March 19, 2001 |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/03/19/dvd_descrambler_encoded_in_illegal/ |quote=The question, of course, is whether an interesting number is illegal merely because it can be used to encode a contraband program. |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://primes.utm.edu/glossary/page.php?sort=Illegal |title=The Prime Glossary: illegal prime |quote=The bottom line: If distributing code is illegal, and these numbers contain (or are) the code, doesn't that make these number illegal? |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> |
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A number may represent some type of [[classified information]] or [[trade secret]], legal to possess only by certain authorized persons. An [[AACS encryption key controversy|AACS encryption key]] (09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) that came to prominence in May 2007 is an example of a number claimed to be a secret, and whose publication or inappropriate possession is claimed to be illegal in the United States. It allegedly assists in the decryption of any [[HD DVD]] or [[Blu-ray Disc]] released before this date. The issuers of a series of cease-and-desist letters claim that the key itself is therefore a copyright circumvention device,<ref>{{cite web |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |date=April 17, 2007 |url=https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/21725# |work=[[Lumen (website)|Lumen]] |quote=Illegal Offering of Processing Key to Circumvent AACS Copyright Protection [...] are thereby providing and offering to the public a technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that is primarily designed, produced, or marketed for the purpose of circumventing the technological protection measures afforded by AACS (hereafter, the "circumvention offering"). Doing so constitutes a violation of the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA") |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> and that publishing the key violates Title 1 of the US [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]]. |
A number may represent some type of [[classified information]] or [[trade secret]], legal to possess only by certain authorized persons. An [[AACS encryption key controversy|AACS encryption key]] (09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) that came to prominence in May 2007 is an example of a number claimed to be a secret, and whose publication or inappropriate possession is claimed to be illegal in the United States. It allegedly assists in the decryption of any [[HD DVD]] or [[Blu-ray Disc]] released before this date. The issuers of a series of cease-and-desist letters claim that the key itself is therefore a copyright circumvention device,<ref>{{cite web |title=AACS licensor complains of posted key |date=April 17, 2007 |url=https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/21725# |work=[[Lumen (website)|Lumen]] |quote=Illegal Offering of Processing Key to Circumvent AACS Copyright Protection [...] are thereby providing and offering to the public a technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that is primarily designed, produced, or marketed for the purpose of circumventing the technological protection measures afforded by AACS (hereafter, the "circumvention offering"). Doing so constitutes a violation of the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA") |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> and that publishing the key violates Title 1 of the US [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]]. |
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In part of the [[DeCSS]] court order<ref name="memo">{{cite web |url=https://cyber.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/filings/NY/0202-mem-order.html |title=Memorandum Order, in MPAA v. Reimerdes, Corley and Kazan |date=February 2, 2000 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> and in the AACS legal notices, the claimed protection for these numbers is based on their mere possession and the value or potential use of the numbers. This makes their status and legal issues surrounding their distribution quite distinct from that of [[copyright infringement]].<ref name="memo" />[[File:Free-speech-flag-ps3.svg|thumb|right|225px|The PlayStation 3 edition of the free speech flag]]Any image file or an executable program<ref>{{cite web |url=https://primes.utm.edu/curios/page.php?number_id=953 |title=Prime Curios: 48565...29443 (1401-digits) |quote=What folks often forget is a program (any file actually) is a string of bits (binary digits)—so every program is a number. |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> can be regarded as simply a very large [[binary number]]. In certain jurisdictions, there are images that are illegal to possess,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/contents#attrib |title=Criminal Justice Act 1988 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> due to [[obscenity]] or secrecy/classified status, so the corresponding numbers could be illegal.<ref name="carmody2" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math |first=David |last=Wells |publisher=Wiley |year=2011 |pages=126–127 |section=Illegal prime |isbn=9781118045718}}</ref> |
In part of the [[DeCSS]] court order<ref name="memo">{{cite web |url=https://cyber.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/filings/NY/0202-mem-order.html |title=Memorandum Order, in MPAA v. Reimerdes, Corley and Kazan |date=February 2, 2000 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> and in the AACS legal notices, the claimed protection for these numbers is based on their mere possession and the value or potential use of the numbers. This makes their status and legal issues surrounding their distribution quite distinct from that of [[copyright infringement]].<ref name="memo" />[[File:Free-speech-flag-ps3.svg|thumb|right|225px|The PlayStation 3 edition of the free speech flag]] |
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Any image file or an executable program<ref>{{cite web |url=https://primes.utm.edu/curios/page.php?number_id=953 |title=Prime Curios: 48565...29443 (1401-digits) |quote=What folks often forget is a program (any file actually) is a string of bits (binary digits)—so every program is a number. |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> can be regarded as simply a very large [[binary number]]. In certain jurisdictions, there are images that are illegal to possess,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/contents#attrib |title=Criminal Justice Act 1988 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> due to [[obscenity]] or secrecy/classified status, so the corresponding numbers could be illegal.<ref name="carmody2" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math |first=David |last=Wells |publisher=Wiley |year=2011 |pages=126–127 |section=Illegal prime |isbn=9781118045718}}</ref> |
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In 2011 Sony sued [[George Hotz]] and members of fail0verflow for [[privilege escalation#Jailbreaking|jailbreaking]] the [[PlayStation 3]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/sony-follows-up-officially-sues-geohot-and-fail0verflow-over-ps/ |title=Sony follows up, officially sues Geohot and fail0verflow over PS3 jailbreak |first=Nilay |last=Patel |work=[[Engadget]] |date=January 12, 2011 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Part of the lawsuit complaint was that they had published PS3 keys. Sony also threatened to sue anyone who distributed the keys.<ref name="ars11">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/02/sony-lawyers-now-targeting-anyone-who-posts-playstation-3-hack/ |title=Sony lawyers now targeting anyone who posts PlayStation 3 hack |first=David |last=Kravets |date=February 8, 2011 |publisher=Ars Technica |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Sony later accidentally retweeted an older [[dongle]] key through its fictional [[Kevin Butler (character)|Kevin Butler]] character.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/02/09/ps3-jailbreak-code-retweeted-by-sonys-kevin-butler-no-punchl/ |title=PS3 'jailbreak code' retweeted by Sony's Kevin Butler, no punchline needed |first=Ross |last=Miller | date=February 9, 2011 |publisher=Engadget |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> |
In 2011 Sony sued [[George Hotz]] and members of fail0verflow for [[privilege escalation#Jailbreaking|jailbreaking]] the [[PlayStation 3]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/sony-follows-up-officially-sues-geohot-and-fail0verflow-over-ps/ |title=Sony follows up, officially sues Geohot and fail0verflow over PS3 jailbreak |first=Nilay |last=Patel |work=[[Engadget]] |date=January 12, 2011 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Part of the lawsuit complaint was that they had published PS3 keys. Sony also threatened to sue anyone who distributed the keys.<ref name="ars11">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/02/sony-lawyers-now-targeting-anyone-who-posts-playstation-3-hack/ |title=Sony lawyers now targeting anyone who posts PlayStation 3 hack |first=David |last=Kravets |date=February 8, 2011 |publisher=Ars Technica |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Sony later accidentally retweeted an older [[dongle]] key through its fictional [[Kevin Butler (character)|Kevin Butler]] character.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/02/09/ps3-jailbreak-code-retweeted-by-sonys-kevin-butler-no-punchl/ |title=PS3 'jailbreak code' retweeted by Sony's Kevin Butler, no punchline needed |first=Ross |last=Miller | date=February 9, 2011 |publisher=Engadget |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> |
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== Flags and steganography == |
== Flags and steganography == |
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[[File:Wikipedia Steganography Flag. |
[[File:Wikipedia Steganography Flag.svg|thumb|The word "Wikipedia" translated into colors via hex codes]] |
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As a protest of the DeCSS case, many people created "[[steganography|steganographic]]" versions of the illegal information (i.e. hiding them in some form in flags etc.). Dave Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon University created a "Gallery of DeCSS descramblers". In the [[AACS encryption key controversy]], a "[[free speech]] flag" was created. Some illegal numbers are so short that a simple flag (shown in the image) could be created by using triples of [[numeral system|components]] as describing [[RGB color model#Numeric representations|red-green-blue]] colors. The argument is that if short numbers can be made illegal, then |
As a protest of the DeCSS case, many people created "[[steganography|steganographic]]" versions of the illegal information (i.e. hiding them in some form in flags etc.). Dave Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon University created a "Gallery of DeCSS descramblers". In the [[AACS encryption key controversy]], a "[[free speech]] flag" was created. Some illegal numbers are so short that a simple flag (shown in the image) could be created by using triples of [[numeral system|components]] as describing [[RGB color model#Numeric representations|red-green-blue]] colors. The argument is that if short numbers can be made illegal, then any representation of those numbers also becomes illegal, like simple patterns of colors, etc. |
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In the ''[[Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz|Sony Computer Entertainment v. Hotz]]'' case, many bloggers (including one at [[Yale Law School]]) made a "new free speech flag" in homage to the AACS free speech flag. Most of these were based on the "dongle key" rather than the keys Hotz actually released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yalelawtech.org/2011/03/01/46-dc-ea-d3-17-fe-45-d8-09-23-eb-97-e4-95-64-10-d4-cd-b2-c2/ |title=46-dc-ea-d3-17-fe-45-d8-09-23-eb-97-e4-95-64-10-d4-cd-b2-c2 |date=March 1, 2011 |first=Ben |last=S. |publisher=Yale Law Tech |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Several users of other websites posted similar flags.<ref>See [[:File:Free-speech-flag-ps3.svg]] description.</ref> |
In the ''[[Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz|Sony Computer Entertainment v. Hotz]]'' case, many bloggers (including one at [[Yale Law School]]) made a "new free speech flag" in homage to the AACS free speech flag. Most of these were based on the "dongle key" rather than the keys Hotz actually released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yalelawtech.org/2011/03/01/46-dc-ea-d3-17-fe-45-d8-09-23-eb-97-e4-95-64-10-d4-cd-b2-c2/ |title=46-dc-ea-d3-17-fe-45-d8-09-23-eb-97-e4-95-64-10-d4-cd-b2-c2 |date=March 1, 2011 |first=Ben |last=S. |publisher=Yale Law Tech |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> Several users of other websites posted similar flags.<ref>See [[:File:Free-speech-flag-ps3.svg]] description.</ref> |
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Protests against the indictment of DeCSS author [[Jon Lech Johansen]] and legislation prohibiting publication of DeCSS code took many forms.<ref>Hamilton, David P. [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery/wsj-04-12-2001.html "Banned Code Lives in Poetry and Song"]</ref> One of them was the representation of the illegal code in a form that had an ''intrinsically archivable'' quality. Since the bits making up a computer program also represent a number, the plan was for the number to have some special property that would make it archivable and publishable (one method was to print it on a T-shirt). The [[primality]] of a number is a fundamental property of [[number theory]] and is therefore not dependent on legal definitions of any particular jurisdiction. |
Protests against the indictment of DeCSS author [[Jon Lech Johansen]] and legislation prohibiting publication of DeCSS code took many forms.<ref>Hamilton, David P. [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery/wsj-04-12-2001.html "Banned Code Lives in Poetry and Song"]</ref> One of them was the representation of the illegal code in a form that had an ''intrinsically archivable'' quality. Since the bits making up a computer program also represent a number, the plan was for the number to have some special property that would make it archivable and publishable (one method was to print it on a T-shirt). The [[primality]] of a number is a fundamental property of [[number theory]] and is therefore not dependent on legal definitions of any particular jurisdiction. |
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The large prime database of |
The large prime database of the [[PrimePages]] website records the top 20 primes of various special forms; one of them is proof of primality using the [[elliptic curve primality proving]] (ECPP) [[algorithm]]. Thus, if the number were large enough and proved prime using ECPP, it would be published. |
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== Other examples == |
== Other examples == |
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* In 2012, it was reported that the numbers 89, 6, and 4 each became banned search terms on search engines in China, because of the date (1989-06-04) of the [[June Fourth Massacre]] in Tiananmen Square.<ref>{{cite news |last=MacKinnon |first=Mark |title=Banned in China on Tiananmen anniversary: 6, 4, 89 and 'today' |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/banned-in-china-on-tiananmen-anniversary-6-4-89-and-today/article4228252/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail |access-date=December 30, 2018 |date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> |
* In 2012, it was reported that the numbers 89, 6, and 4 each became banned search terms on search engines in China, because of the date (1989-06-04) of the [[June Fourth Massacre]] in Tiananmen Square.<ref>{{cite news |last=MacKinnon |first=Mark |title=Banned in China on Tiananmen anniversary: 6, 4, 89 and 'today' |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/banned-in-china-on-tiananmen-anniversary-6-4-89-and-today/article4228252/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail |access-date=December 30, 2018 |date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> |
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* Due to the association with gangs, in 2012 a school district in [[Colorado]] banned the wearing of [[Jersey (clothing)|jersey]]s that bore the numbers 18, 14, or 13 (or the reverse, 81, 41, or 31).<ref>{{cite web |last=Meyer |first=Jeremy P. |title=Greeley school ban on gang numbers includes Peyton Manning's 18 |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2012/09/05/greeley-school-ban-on-gang-numbers-includes-peyton-mannings-18/ |publisher=The Denver Post |access-date=December 30, 2018 |date=September 5, 2012}}</ref> |
* Due to the association with gangs, in 2012 a school district in [[Colorado]] banned the wearing of [[Jersey (clothing)|jersey]]s that bore the numbers 18, 14, or 13 (or the reverse, 81, 41, or 31).<ref>{{cite web |last=Meyer |first=Jeremy P. |title=Greeley school ban on gang numbers includes Peyton Manning's 18 |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2012/09/05/greeley-school-ban-on-gang-numbers-includes-peyton-mannings-18/ |publisher=The Denver Post |access-date=December 30, 2018 |date=September 5, 2012}}</ref> |
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* In 2017, far-right [[Slovakia|Slovak]] politician [[Marian Kotleba]] was [[Marian_Kotleba# |
* In 2017, far-right [[Slovakia|Slovak]] politician [[Marian Kotleba]] was [[Marian_Kotleba#€1,488_cheques_court_case|criminally charged]] for donating 1,488 euros to a charity. The number is a reference to [[Fourteen_Words|a white supremacist slogan]] and the [[Nazi salute]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-slovakia-extremism-idUSKBN1AD223 |title=Police charge leader of Slovak far-right party with extremism |newspaper=Reuters |date=July 28, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Anillegal number is a number that represents information which is illegal to possess, utter, propagate, or otherwise transmit in some legal jurisdiction. Any piece of digital information is representable as a number; consequently, if communicating a specific set of information is illegal in some way, then the number may be illegal as well.[1][2][3]
A number may represent some type of classified informationortrade secret, legal to possess only by certain authorized persons. An AACS encryption key (09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) that came to prominence in May 2007 is an example of a number claimed to be a secret, and whose publication or inappropriate possession is claimed to be illegal in the United States. It allegedly assists in the decryption of any HD DVDorBlu-ray Disc released before this date. The issuers of a series of cease-and-desist letters claim that the key itself is therefore a copyright circumvention device,[4] and that publishing the key violates Title 1 of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
In part of the DeCSS court order[5] and in the AACS legal notices, the claimed protection for these numbers is based on their mere possession and the value or potential use of the numbers. This makes their status and legal issues surrounding their distribution quite distinct from that of copyright infringement.[5]
Any image file or an executable program[6] can be regarded as simply a very large binary number. In certain jurisdictions, there are images that are illegal to possess,[7] due to obscenity or secrecy/classified status, so the corresponding numbers could be illegal.[1][8]
In 2011 Sony sued George Hotz and members of fail0verflow for jailbreaking the PlayStation 3.[9] Part of the lawsuit complaint was that they had published PS3 keys. Sony also threatened to sue anyone who distributed the keys.[10] Sony later accidentally retweeted an older dongle key through its fictional Kevin Butler character.[11]
As a protest of the DeCSS case, many people created "steganographic" versions of the illegal information (i.e. hiding them in some form in flags etc.). Dave Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon University created a "Gallery of DeCSS descramblers". In the AACS encryption key controversy, a "free speech flag" was created. Some illegal numbers are so short that a simple flag (shown in the image) could be created by using triples of components as describing red-green-blue colors. The argument is that if short numbers can be made illegal, then any representation of those numbers also becomes illegal, like simple patterns of colors, etc.
In the Sony Computer Entertainment v. Hotz case, many bloggers (including one at Yale Law School) made a "new free speech flag" in homage to the AACS free speech flag. Most of these were based on the "dongle key" rather than the keys Hotz actually released.[12] Several users of other websites posted similar flags.[13]
Anillegal prime is an illegal number which is also prime. One of the earliest illegal prime numbers was generated in March 2001 by Phil Carmody. Its binary representation corresponds to a compressed version of the C source code of a computer program implementing the DeCSS decryption algorithm, which can be used by a computer to circumvent a DVD's copy protection.[14]
Protests against the indictment of DeCSS author Jon Lech Johansen and legislation prohibiting publication of DeCSS code took many forms.[15] One of them was the representation of the illegal code in a form that had an intrinsically archivable quality. Since the bits making up a computer program also represent a number, the plan was for the number to have some special property that would make it archivable and publishable (one method was to print it on a T-shirt). The primality of a number is a fundamental property of number theory and is therefore not dependent on legal definitions of any particular jurisdiction.
The large prime database of the PrimePages website records the top 20 primes of various special forms; one of them is proof of primality using the elliptic curve primality proving (ECPP) algorithm. Thus, if the number were large enough and proved prime using ECPP, it would be published.
There are other contexts in which smaller numbers have run afoul of laws or regulations, or drawn the attention of authorities.
Maybe I was reading something between the lines that wasn't there, but if arbitrary programs could be expressed as primes, the immediate conclusion is that all programs, including ones some people wished didn't exist, can too. I.e. the so called 'circumvention devices' of which my previous prime exploit was an example.
The question, of course, is whether an interesting number is illegal merely because it can be used to encode a contraband program.
The bottom line: If distributing code is illegal, and these numbers contain (or are) the code, doesn't that make these number illegal?
Illegal Offering of Processing Key to Circumvent AACS Copyright Protection [...] are thereby providing and offering to the public a technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that is primarily designed, produced, or marketed for the purpose of circumventing the technological protection measures afforded by AACS (hereafter, the "circumvention offering"). Doing so constitutes a violation of the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA")
What folks often forget is a program (any file actually) is a string of bits (binary digits)—so every program is a number.
