US government attacks downloaders, sinks movie pirating sites
Looking to save some money at the movies?
While taking in a matinee, subscribing to Netflix and swapping DVDs among friends are all smart ways to save money on films, being frugal to the point of breaking the law is another thing altogether.
Illegal downloading seems to be commonplace these days and isn't taken very seriously, but all that may be changing.
Last week, U.S. Homeland Security agents shut down several popular websites devoted to online video streaming. While shuttering these sites will hardly make a dent in the number of sites offering the same service, it’s clear that US officials are getting serious when it comes to cracking down on pirating.
Warrants were issued for several US citizens and their associated bank accounts and the perpetrators are looking at heavy fines and even jail time if their prosecution is successful.
But not everybody is on board here. Academics such as Stanford University law professor Lawrence Lessig, the founder of the Creative Commons movement, argue that restricting the way people can appropriate and even rework media will actually hamper our ability to further develop our culture.
But that doesn’t necessarily provide license for those who would view the Internet as one big quarry for everyone to mine for free.
The practical issue becomes even less clear if you look at the use of BitTorrent, which is often criticized as the most common method of illegal filesharing, even though it has many legitimate uses.
BitTorrent leaves no one individual to be held accountable for the millions of files floating around in cyberspace, simply waiting to be grabbed by an individual with the correct software. But does this lack of accountability make it ok?
Let’s face it: People like free stuff. If you concede that downloading will always be with us in some way, where does it fit in your life?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: ClearThinker2 | Jul 16, 2021 12:08:17 PM
WOW! Boycott...........you have a real ax to grind. Only, your ax is broken. Do your studies, read ALL the news and get your FACTS in order before you spout garbled nonsense.
Find out why there are Palestinians who support the jews in Israel, find out who are the people that operate in Tinseltown (mixed). You obviously are the most feared type of person (called RACIST). Scary!!
Posted by: Anno | Jul 16, 2021 2:00:30 PM
Obvious troll is obvious
Posted by: Nabi | Jul 16, 2021 2:19:29 PM
This is NOT stealing--if someone drops money on the street or strews songs and movies all over the place, monitoring what happens should be their problem, not the legal system's.
Posted by: Matos | Jul 17, 2021 12:20:43 AM
@Nabi - If I took your wallet, and dropped your money on the ground and someone else picked it up, Would your wallet have been stolen?
Posted by: ron | Jul 17, 2021 2:52:48 AM
Piracy is stealing. That's it. Professor Lessig's assertion that we're not "further developing our culture" is bunk. We'll have no entertainment culture when no one can make money in the entertainment industry. What a stupendously stupid excuse for justifying illegal activity.
Posted by: Paul | Jul 17, 2021 4:50:14 AM
I can understand the piracy issues, but what I have a bigger issue with is the new law being proposed for Canada making it illegal to break digital locks on any devices you have. This means if you buy a device you are basically buying a device to be used for the intended purpose of the device only if it has a digital lock. So creative types that wanted to try interesting things on their hardware or make a physical back up of music/software onto a cd or dvd be warned - break a digital lock and you could be breaking the law without sharing it with anyone.
Posted by: BOYCOTT Israel and USA | Jul 17, 2021 8:19:35 AM
Notice how the jew media like MSN deletes any criticism of Israel and the Zionist, APARTHEID regime of Israel? Keep downloading to keep the money away from the Zionist jew producers that support the destruction of Palestine, the occupation of the NATIVE people and the murder of humanitarian aid workers in international waters.
Stop terrorism : BOYCOTT Israel and USA
Posted by: BOYCOTT Israel and USA | Jul 17, 2021 8:23:54 AM
For a great view of how the Zionist jews control Hollywood watch, 'REEL Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People' (available for FREE on The Pirate Bay) - that's show you the real racist, APARTHEID nature of the jew controlled media in the USA.
Posted by: Zionist media control | Jul 17, 2021 8:37:22 AM
I NEVER downloaded a single song before the Recording Industry had Napster destroyed. I must have bought 'Pink Floyd - The Wall' at least 10 times over the years (tapes, CDs, various box sets, special editions...) and over the decades, it still costs over $25!!! So wen I saw how greedy the recording industry got (most of those profits DON'T go to the artists) I decided to start downloading. And unlike Pink Floyd, most musicians these days may have one or two decent songs on a $20 CD. $10 to $20 for a song, now that's piracy.
And I remember when I could see a movie and even buy a snack and drink for about $10, now it's about $25. So I download. And since a lot of movies are produced by rabid supporters of APARTHEID israel, if you have to go to a movie produced by one of those jews, pay for another movie by someone decent and walk in to the other movie, that way the money doesn't go to support israeli terrorism, occupation, rape and murder.
Posted by: Alani | Jul 17, 2021 2:28:45 PM
Downloading isn't stealing, it's sharing. Nothing ever gets taken, just copies made and spread out to people that want it. You CANNOT lose something you never had. And it is't stealing if you don't get money you MIGHT have made.
Right or wrong as downloading might be, it is not, in any way, theft.
Musicians make money off of live performances, not CD's. People still go see them, no matter how they hear their music at home. Movies make money off of people seeing them in theatres, not the DVD's.
Downloading has become too prominent, you'll never get people paying the ridiculous amounts for movies and CD's. The industry resisted the downloading phenomenon too long at first, and only recently started to adapt. They'll have to continue to evolve to counter the effects of downloading, but must realize that downloading isn't going to stop.
Posted by: randy | Jul 17, 2021 2:42:21 PM
clearthinker - this is about downloading videos/media you fool, quit talking about palestine and israel.
Posted by: Alani has lost it | Jul 17, 2021 10:06:59 PM
What R U talking about? If I never purchased the song and I decide to download it for my enjoyment, it is called stealing. If a friend buys a CD and I make a copy from it, it is called pirating. There is no argument. However, our society has allowed this to go on because it is simply too difficult to monitor. The laws are put in place not for the individual who copies the odd song or CD but for the larger "downloaders" or those who make money selling these "pirated" CD/Video's. Matos said it perfectly.
Posted by: J. Lindon | Jul 18, 2021 6:49:50 PM
They will NEVER catch me.
Posted by: gan0n | Jul 20, 2021 6:14:57 AM
fascinating they insist on punishing the individual downloader. when are they going to get their act together and actually shut down store fronts in small local malls which sell blatantly downloaded movies and music? why doesnt the govt go after those small enterprises first? the ones who disseminate all this free stuff to the masses WHILE CHARGING THEM FOR IT. instead, the govt goes after single moms with mortgages and kids.
i will never understand the govt and their rationale on many things.
Posted by: Al | Jul 21, 2021 9:53:59 AM
I don't feel that downloading is piracy! Over the years we have all embraced the new technologies as they have been made available. We bought albums on vinyl, then we bought the same music on 8 track, then cassette. then again on cd's. Each time they come out with a new platform for music or games or movies or whatever, we embrace it, and pay for it. So now we have the internet, which we embrace and pay for. And since that new technology allows us to share files and make copies and transfer all our games and music to other platforms everybodies up in arms and crying foul. Well too frigging bad for you! I paid for my computer and I pay for the internet, so I'm going to use it to the best of it's capability.