'I Was a Hacker for the MPAA'

Wired has up an article with a man named Robert Anderson, who was recruited by the MPAA in 2005 to inform on people in the BitTorrent community. In a tell-all interview with the site, Anderson explains how the powerful media organization encouraged him to obtain the information they were looking for: "According to Anderson, the MPAA told him: 'We would need somebody like you. We would give you a nice paying job, a house, a car, anything you needed.... if you save Hollywood for us you can become rich and powerful.' In 2005, the MPAA paid Anderson $15,000 for inside information about TorrentSpy -- information at the heart of a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought by the MPAA against TorrentSpy of Los Angeles. The material is also the subject of a wiretapping countersuit against the MPAA brought by TorrentSpy's founder, Justin Bunnell, who alleges the information was obtained illegally."

Comments

Re:"Didn't know"? Right.

[MoonFog]

Surprising? Not really, expected more like it, but this is an organisation that constantly calls entire P2P networks into question because there MIGHT be illegitimate content on them. They even slam the protocol itself, claiming it is illegal, and are caught red handed doing illegal deeds themselves. Schadenfreude more than surprise I'd say.

Re:MPAA losing money

[dave420]

And if those people aren't actually going to buy the movie:

I.Now.Pronounce.You.Chuck.And.Larry[2007]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo SE 5257 LE 11556
MPAA Lose: Total: (5257 + 11556)* $0 = $0

Pirates.Of.The.Caribbean-At.World's.End[2007]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo 10-17 19:11 Decargar 900.29 MiB 5182 7394
MPAA Lose: Total: (5182 + 7394) * $0 = $0

Or, if the people who download it will buy it on DVD or go to see it at the cinema, then there is no correlation between those who download and lost revenue. None at all.

internet != mass media

[weighn]

Re:You no longer consume mass media?
Yet you're on the Internet?

Riiight! Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state.
Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority.

So, if AC just reads /. as opposed to, say, Digg he/she does not consume mass media. Objection overruled.

Re:obligatory

[morgan_greywolf]

Yes. 1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers states that:

[Anyone who] ...knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period; The term "protected computer" is defined as:

(B) which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States; (i) the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;

(ii) the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State Hello, Mr. Federal Prosecutor? Where are you?

Re:When hypocrites attack...

[Technician]

Nah, I just rip them and remove the macrovision.

DVD's don't have Macrovision. They have a Macrovision flag. A legal player adds Macrovision to the player output. Rippers never bothered with the flag and don't have a Macrovision license to use the encoder.

If you paid extra for a ripper that "Removes Macrovision" you got ripped off. You would have to pay extra for a ripper that adds Macrovision.