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Police Raid Home of 9-Year-Old Pirate Bay User, Seize "Winnie the Pooh" Laptop

Posted by samzenpus on from the that's-some-mighty-fine-police-work-there-lou dept.

zacharye writes "Copyright enforcement might be getting out of hand in Scandinavia. As anti-piracy groups and copyright owners continue to work with authorities to curtail piracy in the region, police this week raided the home of a 9-year-old suspect and confiscated her "Winnie the Pooh" laptop. TorrentFreak reports that the girl's home was raided after local anti-piracy group CIAPC determined copyrighted files had been downloaded illegally at her residence. Her father, the Internet service account holder, was contacted by CIAPC, which demanded that he pay a 600 euro fine and sign a non-disclosure agreement to settle the matter. When the man did not comply, authorities raided his home and collected evidence, including his 9-year-old daughter's notebook computer."

23 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. Sensational! by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A pretty sensationalist summary of what can only be charitably described as an article, which itself is long on innuendo but short on actual, you know, "facts".

    All that can really be said is that they raided the guys house and among other things took the childâ(TM)s laptop. There is no evidence in this story that the child was the primary suspect or even a suspect at all.

    The most that can really be said is the 600 euro fine (and the non-disclosure agreement) is absurd for what the alleged crime is.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Sensational! by Swampash · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Big Media, winning hearts and minds.

    2. Re:Sensational! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      From reading the story it seems like the father admitted that the daughter tried to download some songs but was unable to because the download failed for some reason so they went out and the CD she wanted. While I don't agree with the way the music industry handles all of this I don't pirate content because I don't want to deal with this crap. But on the same note I buy very very very little music now. I used to buy CDs or when itunes came out albums all the time at least one a month. Now I'm lucky if I buy one song a year.

    3. Re:Sensational! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      According to TorrentFreak, the girl tried to download a number of songs by Finnish pop star Chisu using The Pirate Bay, where she was led after searching for the songs on Google (GOOG). The downloads failed, according to the girl’s father, and the two went to a local store the following day to purchase a Chisu album. ISPs working with CIAPC flagged the activity, however, and the group’s anti-piracy procedures went into effect.

      Emphasis added.

    4. Re:Sensational! by jimmosk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hey, reddit's good enough for President Obama...
      http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/

    5. Re:Sensational! by DeeEff · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not only is she 9 years old, but she never actually SUCCESSFULLY pirated anything. She never broke any law.

      Furthermore, her father took her to the store and actually PAID FOR THE CONTENT the very next day. 600 Euros in damages for a crime that wasn't committed claiming damages that were.... what? How were they damaged? They didn't even lose a sale. So I guess this whole thing is bollocks then, and there should be no reason for them to raid a home and start taking things on a whim.

    6. Re:Sensational! by thej1nx · · Score: 5, Funny
      And if you are seriously advocating to pay the police and prison employees from PUBLIC tax money, to protect and enforce the interests of PRIVATE corporates... instead of taking the usual civil suits route... you have to be either a RIAA/MPAA crony or certifiably batshit insane

      .
      ...or of course, a US senator, who are usually both.

  2. Dear CIAPC by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FUCK YOU.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  3. Get it right. by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Its a home invasion, not a raid.. Stop sugar coating police activity.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Get it right. by fredprado · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not there. In Finland it is not a criminal offence and the police clearly ignored the law and did what their owners (the corporations) wanted them to do, thus the need for the non-disclosure agreement. Now it remains to be seen if the courts will follow the law or blatantly ignore it and just do as they want like in the Piratebay trial in Sweden.

  4. Non-disclosure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the suspect part. Why would they want the father to sign a non-disclosure agreement? How is fining the man a deterrent to others if they never hear about it?

    These are rhetorical questions of course, as its obvious why.

  5. Re:Scandinavia, the great country! by hyfe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I honestly suspect if our police (who don't have guns) tried to take a 9 year old girls laptop they would comply when she kicked them and told them go away :)

    Oh, and I wouldn't have it any other way.. damn proud of it in fact.

    --
    "" How about taking the safety labels off everything, and let the stupidity-problem solve itself? """
  6. Direct link by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 5, Informative

    The "article" mostly quotes from Torrent Freak. Here's the longer source:

    http://torrentfreak.com/police-raid-9-year-old-pirate-bay-girl-confiscate-winnie-the-pooh-laptop-121122/

    1. Re:Direct link by Mitreya · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Thank you for the link
      It's the tidbits like this that make me feel warm and fuzzy about copyright and police:

      "It would have been easier for all concerned if you had paid the compensation," the police advised

      Any other law violation you either get searched/charged or let off the hook.
      How about next time you are charged with (actual) theft, someone calls you first and offers to pay 600 euros to avoid the hassle? Why is this a valid option for copyright violation accusations?

    2. Re:Direct link by grcumb · · Score: 5, Funny

      She can't be that smart... she got caught didn't she? :)

      This time. The test will be to measure what havoc she wreaks on her tormentors once she gets her new My Little Pony rig and goes all Princess Digital on their asses.

      Well... My Little Pwnie, actually....

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
    3. Re:Direct link by sjames · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you think a 9 year old can't manage it, I suggest that it is you who needs to join us here in the real world.

    4. Re:Direct link by mcmadman · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually that's exactly how it works. You don't call the police directly like you're reporting robbery though. Your lawyers see a judge and file charges and obtain a warrant. THEN the police get involved and go to the defendant and gather evidence. Those extra steps are required, in theory, to make sure that a crime is likely taking place before the police get involved. At some point a judge approved this raid before it happened. The plaintiff presented evidence to support their claim, had their i's dotted and t's crossed, got the warrant, and in came the cops. That's sometimes how civil cases go.

      Well as far as the Finnish laws go, the investigating police officer can issue a search warrant for anyone's home if there is "a reasonable suspicion". Whatever this "reasonable suspicion" can be, is up to anyone's guess. No need for a judge just yet. This procedure shows just how rotten a police state this country has become.

    5. Re:Direct link by dropadrop · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Any other law violation you either get searched/charged or let off the hook. How about next time you are charged with (actual) theft, someone calls you first and offers to pay 600 euros to avoid the hassle? Why is this a valid option for copyright violation accusations?

      Unfortunately, "any other law" doesn't apply here. This is a civil violation, not a criminal one. Its not theft, it's copyright violation. It's extortion to demand money not to turn someone in for a criminal violation, but in civil matters you are free to offer a deal in exchange for not pressing charges. In criminal cases, the D.A. is the one pressing the charges, and in civil cases it's the plaintiff's lawyer, which is why they have the option.

      The plaintiffs aren't the problem here. The police aren't the problem either. The plaintiffs are simply taking advantage of the law as written for their own benefit, and the police are just playing along by the rules as required. It's the Bad Law that's to blame. You can't blame companies and greedy people for being greedy, it's what they DO. You can't blame the police for enforcing the law, it's also what they DO. The only one to blame is your legislator, who created the Bad Law, whom you voted in. That means blame yourself, and work to get the laws changed.

      Well actually the police are partially to blame here. While a warrant is not required to confiscate computers from somebody's home in Finnish law, search is researved for cases that could produce 6 months in jail and cause "significant damage". The police has decided that downloading 1 cd caused significant damage and could result in 6 months of jail which required quite creative reasoning from them.

  7. for the last time by alienzed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not theft if the original owner still has it.

    --
    Never say never. Ah!! I did it again!
    1. Re:for the last time by KiloByte · · Score: 5, Informative

      The laptop's owner no longer has it. So a theft did occur, under false colour of law.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  8. EXTORTION, real honest to goodness extortion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I threaten to reveal a crime you did, and demand money in exchange, that's extortion.

    Which is exactly the problem with these 'dual' laws. The police become the arm of an extortion racket, where the reason for paying up is the threat of a police raid.

    What CIAPC did WAS EXTORTION, because they could not offer him immunity from a copyright infringement claim or criminal claim against him. Their claim to pay up 600 euros or they go to the police is therefore cleancut extortion. The NDA is confirmation that they know its extortion.

  9. I bet she was running a honey pot. by PDX · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet the kid was running a honey pot. What else was a Pooh to do?

  10. Note to law enforcement by sjames · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you find yourself taking a Winnie the Pooh laptop from a 9 year old, you've probably gone over a line or two somewhere.