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Japanese P2P Users Arrested, Creator Targeted

Posted by simoniker on from the stomp-the-miscreants dept.

nutznboltz writes "According to a story on CNET Asia, two Japanese users of the Winny P2P application have been arrested for copyright violations, and the developer of the P2P software has also had his home searched by police. Winny was 'supposedly anonymous', and purported to be based on Freenet, although Freenet creator Ian Clarke is claiming that Winny is not really like Freenet, and that he's 'not concerned that the Japanese police have somehow found a way to compromise Freenet's security'."

9 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. MOD DOWN, troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. p2p isn't piracy or crime, just like everything else it can be used to violate laws, so p2p != piracy.

    2. copying software isn't theft or crime, it's just copyright violation (I'm not saying it's cool, it's just not a crime)

    1. Re:MOD DOWN, troll by RumpRoast · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But if you read the article, they were arrested for sharing very specific items, namely an Nintendo game and a feature film. That is piracy, regardless of the p2p enabler.

      Also, although IANACL isn't copyright violation a crime? So I can just violate copyrights willy nilly and get away with it until I'm slapped with a civil suit?

      --

      My Ass hurts.
  2. Uh, not quite... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Piracy is a crime and these folks were arrested for it. I don't see why this is news.

    Uh, not quite. Software piracy may be a crime, but writing a P2P application, which has practical purposes for sharing files legally, isn't (as far as I know).

    It's a sad day when writing a file sharing application is enough to get your house turned upside down by the police or get you thrown into jail.

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:Uh, not quite... by lennart78 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Uh, not quite. Software piracy may be a crime, but writing a P2P application, which has practical purposes for sharing files legally, isn't (as far as I know).


      If the government feels it should prosecute writers of p2p applications because copyright infringment can take place with these, why not also go after the firearms industry, because people get shot by guns?
    2. Re:Uh, not quite... by tgt · · Score: 2, Insightful

      why not also go after the firearms industry

      Because government profits from taxes they pay. As soon as you pay 0.01 cents per download government is p2p's best friend.

      --
      I like my outfit, it's inexpensive, but cool -- April Ryan
    3. Re:Uh, not quite... by Tim+C · · Score: 3, Insightful

      why not also go after the firearms industry, because people get shot by guns?

      Because the firearms industry is (relatively) huge, has lots of money, generates a lot of tax revenue, and has a few volunteer groups campaigning against it. In contrast, file-sharing tech is (relatively) tiny, has next to no money, is used by people to avoid paying for stuff and therefore generating tax revenue*, and has large, multinational groups with lots of money campaigning against it. Logic doesn't come into it, money does.

      * Yes, I know, it has legitmate uses too, but they don't generate any tax revenue either

      --
      It's official. Most of you are morons.
  3. Re:Freenet/Winny by Troed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can search Freenet _exactly_ in the same way you can search the World Wide Web. If you use a messageboard/filesharing application on top of Freenet (like Frost) you can search with a nice little search box per board or in all of them.

    But please, why not post uninformed opinions on Slashdot and get modded up as Insightful :)

    --
    it's in my head
  4. Re:News to me by paganizer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ANd why are the neighborhoods destroyed?
    Because the pushers are doing something very risky for very high profits; because the users have to pay a artificially high price for drugs. eliminate government interference, prices go down, it's no longer neccesary to have hired goons running around guarding the drug dealers, no longer worthwhile to KILL to protect your drug supply.
    Drugs are a problem. the Violence and crime associated with drugs is 90%+ the result of the war on crime.
    Don't believe me? think about the 60's & 70's. I was there, I know.

    --
    Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
  5. Re:Ever *truly* Anonymous? by caluml · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Have a second internet with a completely different method of assigning IP address. NAT all traffic passing through your box.
    Hey presto, no-one knows if it came from you, or the person behind you, and there is no ISP that can be asked who "owned" an IP at a certain time.

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker