You Can't Keep HD-DVD Locked Down

For those of you with a life you might not have heard that an AACS encryption key - the encryption protecting HD-DVD discs - has been discovered. The MPAA are sending cease and desist letters to sites that are sharing the key, and people don't like it. "How can you 'own' a number and say nobody else can display it?" (Answer: That's the DMCA for you.)

Digg.com received a takedown notice and found themselves messing with the double edged sword of staying within the law and keeping their users happy. Digg even went down for a period of time as rebellious users crapflooded the site with thousands of stories and comments containing the now-infamous "09 F9"... hex number. Site moderators fought to keep things under control but couldn't fight the wisdom of crowds mob mentality and eventually gave up the futile battle.

This also brought out a lot of creativeness too. Have a look at these Photoshopped images created by users and collected by Wired as an example. There's even a song!