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Convicted by the Movie Cops

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-think-about dept.

Reckless Visionary writes "Salon has a great article about what it's like to get on the MPAA's bad side. It's a first hand account of what happens when you are accused of violating the DMCA and commentary on the "guilty until proven innocent" nature of today's copyright laws." Pirate movies. Lose access. You are guilty. And this guy was on vacation when it happened, so there's no need for accountability. Hope you don't depend on your net access.

3 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Honestly by WinDoze · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If my ISP decided to shut me off because someone else accused me of something, and they didn't even bother asking my side of the story, I think I'd be more than happy to terminate my relationship with that ISP.

  2. Quick (legal) question... by Noryungi · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Let me summarize:
    • ISP thinks you are spreading pirated movies through Usenet
    • ISP cuts off the line and tells you rudely you are violating whatever idiotic law they'd like to protect
    • You have no recourse, no information on said pirated movie post and you can't prove anything


    I believe that, in such as case, it should be possible to countersue both the ISP, the MPAA and the company doing research for both.

    Something like "Unfair termination of service" or "Violation of service agreement" as well as "Slanderous attacks" seem totally possible in this case. Anybody with more legal experience cares to comment?

    Chilling, nonetheless... =(
    --
    The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
    1. Re:Quick (legal) question... by Silicon+Avatar · · Score: 5, Interesting

      > * ISP thinks you are spreading pirated moviesthrough Usenet

      Not to split hairs ... the ISP didn't necessarily think the person was spreading pirated movies. The ISP, as a corporate entity, has just as much 'right' to fear lawyers as we do. There's a provision in the DMCA that basically says "if tell you a user is pirating, you *must* do something or we'll sue you into oblivion". The ISP didn't throw these people in Jail. The ISP didn't call out the police. The ISP didn't even terminate the account.

      I think the ISP did a fairly reasonable thing. They directly cut off any ability for the users to further pirate. If the users had been home to see their service had been disconneted, its entirely possible this entire thing would've been resolved within 24 hours.

      Now, another debate is whether or not the DMCA should give anyone the 'ability' to demand an ISP take this kind of action ... I find that reprehensible.