Is the Government really cracking down on Downloading??

I think the only time they would even notice you is if you did huge downloads, and they wouldn't care unless you sold or rented the stuff. They have bigger things to worry about then some music or movies that are being pirated.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by jgripe1

How does the government track the illegal downloading? And what happens when they catch somebody? Just wondering.

I don't know. If it's illegal, it's illegal. It really is stealing, and it makes sense that the government should crack down on people.

I have the feeling it's the RIAA and their cronies that are trying to do such tracking. Which, from what I gather is illegal as well. Must suck to be them...

Seriously though, they put out fake releases and take note of the IP addresses. Otherwise, I'd have no idea. I recall them trying to sue the ISPs to get them to divulge such info, don't know if that got them anywhere though. Again, it must suck to be them...

:biggrin:

How ya doing, buddy?

Yeah, I must say there certainly is an increased in downloading today. Sure, the government might be occassionally nabbing a few people here and there to 'show' the huge recording companies something but I think it is partially the recording companies' fault. Most of the time, the price just doesn't match the quality of the CD. Too many of today's CDs are over-priced. I think they've been selling those CDs way above cost for too long a time... If only those corporate monolithes could just cut down on their avarice then perhaps, we'll start seeing many more people actually downloading and buying the media material.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

You should only be concerned if you're downloading some very popular stuff. They can't catch you unless you take their bait. In large cities, the ISPs sometimes put your upload speed on par with dialup, to keep you from sharing. It's best to know who you're downloading from. If the guy doesn't have a lot of files, and it's a popular song, don't download it. If it's a guy with a substantial amount of files, it's likely safe, because I doubt some government fag is going to waste his time downloading 20 GB of music just to catch a few teenagers.

You should also use the right P2P software, and it does not start with an "L".

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by rotsi

You should also use the right P2P software, and it does not start with an "L".

Heh.

Lets talk about the high-speed internet ISP's. Surely, the ISP must see a marginal difference between your not-pirating high-speed user and your pirating high-speed user, right? And between any users who are uploading a heavy amount of data on a weekly basis, and vice versa. Every high-speed user isn't making full use of their bandwidth, is that an okay assumption?

So, the ISP's know that someone has been running an FTP server based on the sheer amount of media-related data they've uploaded from one port (for example.) Why don't ISPs co-operate with the RIAA or anti-piracy groups? Does Comcast just not agree with anti-piracy? Do Comcast or other ISPs just see it as a thing that they can let slide in this time and age?

And are the ISPs responsible to conceal our pirate doings?

I think the answer is yes to all the yes/no questions. But I'm not sure.

I do think it is good advice to say that to avoid piracy, just download in places more private, and download less mainstream media. Because of what concern the RIAA has shown in public so far lets that assumption go.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Ayos

Basically, I don't worry about it, no matter how many downloaded or copied songs, games, movies, et cetera I do or do not have. If the government wants to search my house for stuff, they'll need a warrant, and for a warrant, they'll need probable cause, and they can only get that if they are already taking the time and effort to poke around into what I'm doing on the net - which would be illegal unless they had a warrant for THAT, too.

Didn't The Patriot Act change all of that?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Aquas

Why don't ISPs co-operate with the RIAA or anti-piracy groups?

Why would any ISPs want to do that? It's not exactly in their best interest to do so.

I mean, it's not like we're talking about childpornography or anything here. Filesharing is a two-bit crime at best.

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^But it does make sense, I mean I downloaded more than 100GB in the past 2 months... it's easily detectable... so what's the deal with ISPs anywayz?


Got a dumb question...

Quote:

My personal advice is to watch where you download. I will never, ever download a hot torrent off of a major, public bittorrent tracker like piratebay, mininova, torrentspy, etc. I stick to private trackers and usenet.

I use demonoid and blackcats-games... are those considered private or public trackers... also can you guys recommend me some "private trackers"... no idea was usenet is but I'll look into that (since I dun want you guys to explain something from scratch ^^)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Tsunade

^But it does make sense, I mean I downloaded more than 100GB in the past 2 months... it's easily detectable... so what's the deal with ISPs anywayz?

If they did get wind of your questionable activites and reported you to some anti-piracy guys (assuming this is all well and legal in Canada), the immediate result for them would be one lost customer. And after word got out that the ISP in question reports its customers, they would stand to loose countless more. This is why "It's not exactly in their best interest to do so".

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by seanne

If they did get wind of your questionable activites and reported you to some anti-piracy guys (assuming this is all well and legal in Canada), the immediate result for them would be one lost customer. And after word got out that the ISP in question reports its customers, they would stand to loose countless more. This is why "It's not exactly in their best interest to do so".

Ah, that makes sense. But it could be a scenario in the future, when Comcast has all the money they need. As if they don't already. And when piracy is proven to be bringing down creative groups.

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The thing is... that is what I think... but, since the city I live in has ONE cable internet provider... so I doubt one customer or a few being screwed over would make a big deal since it's the only cable company... but then again what I do know about economics and politics <.<

How ya doing, buddy?

With copyright law doesn't it only say "It is illegal to distribute / copy this movie..." it never actually says anything about obtaining them.

As for private trackers, couldn't these have been set up by government? Or is that entrapment or something?

I've seen some suspicous users on dc++, they have all of the movies you can think of and when you download from them their downloads run at around 4mb/s (that's the actual download rate), I have a feeling they may have alot more honeypots setup than we think.

But then again, hundreds of thousands of people download from these every day, so are they going to arrest every user? Unless as has been said they just look out for the mass uploaders.

For ISP's noticing you are downloading say 100gb a week, I don't think they'd notice really, it's not as if you're overusing your download limit or anything, they just set you at say 1mb/s and then leave you to it. The only way I can see an investigation even starting on someone is word of mouth that someone is selling say, illegal DVD's, then the police obtaining one from the seller and then they have solid evidence to get as warrant and prosecute them.

The worst I've seen is people receiving warning letters from their ISP's / movie companies to stop and delete whatever they have within 24 hours.

I was speaking idiomatically.

There are far too many people downloading far too many things for the government to pursue them. Even Microsoft, RIAA, and stuff are going for the actual Pirates, who mass-rip copyrighted materials and put them on the internet. It simply costs too much to hunt down each and every illegal downloader, because unlike physical thieves, someone can 'steal' as many copies of something, without it 'running out'. Also, most people who illegally download things wouldn't buy it if they couldn't get it free, so even the 'virtual loss' sustained by the companies are very low. The only thing that pays off for these companies is busting groups of people who pirate and sell copyrighted material, and the occasional person who uploads vast numbers of copyrighted material on the internet.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It also seems to pay off for them to go after little 10 year old kids...

I can kind of understand why the RIAA and the like go after people that download. If you don't protect your copyright you can lose it IIRC. Really, I think it's understandable and justified in part. However, it's just really slimy going only after those that can't fight back and after fair use of such copyrighted works. Bunch of tools at the RIAA if you ask me! Seems they are afraid to go after those that have the money and power to give them a good licking.

Originally Posted by Aquas

Ah, that makes sense. But it could be a scenario in the future, when Comcast has all the money they need. As if they don't already. And when piracy is proven to be bringing down creative groups.

Like any business will ever have enough money...

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