Derek, NPR's policy has resulted in two immediate, visible harms that are not inconsequential, and that this policy won't undo:

1. They've served people with C&D letters, causing them to take their sites offline, silencing voices on the Web.

2. They've convinced reasonable people -- friends who've emailed me -- that there's a basis for believing that some links can be infringing.

The fact that they haven't stopped me from linking to them is irrelevant. I work within earshot of half-a-dozen of the finest civil liberties and copyright lawyers in the world. I'm not worried about being served with a C&D.

What I'm worried about is two things, mirroring the points above:

1. That people have been misinformed (and continue to be misinformed) by NPR about the nature of links and copyright. Reasonable people have a generally justifiable trust of NPR's thoroughness and accuracy, and on the basis of that trust, they have chosen to believe NPR's misinformation. Until NPR retracts its statements, those people will go on believing something that is both untruthful and harmful.

2. That people have already been C&Ded by NPR and that this policy -- with its threat of "withdrawal of permission" -- opens the door to future intimidation. Most people don't have the good fortune to be surrounded by rabid civil-liberties and copyright lawyers, and when faced with a letter from NPR's legal department, they're likely to fold. NPR's policy can only indicate that they intend to send out intimidating letters, bullying more people into silence.

I appreciate the approbation, but it's not a victory by half. Sure, they took down the form, and that's good news, but they're still using their journalistic credibility to disseminate harmful and erroneous information. Until they stop it, they've lost my support.