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London Police Placing Anti-Piracy Warning Ads On Illegal Sites

Posted by timothy on from the since-you're-here-anyhow dept.

mrspoonsi (2955715) writes "The City of London police has started placing banner advertisements on websites believed to be offering pirated content illegally. The messages, which will appear instead of paid-for ads, will ask users to close their web browsers. The move comes as part of a continuing effort to stop piracy sites from earning money through advertising. Police said the ads would make it harder for piracy site owners to make their pages look authentic. "When adverts from well known brands appear on illegal websites, they lend them a look of legitimacy and inadvertently fool consumers into thinking the site is authentic," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu). "This new initiative is another step forward for the unit in tackling IP crime and disrupting criminal profits. "Copyright infringing websites are making huge sums of money though advert placement, therefore disrupting advertising on these sites is crucial and this is why it is an integral part of Operation Creative.""

6 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. Hilarious by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Piracy sites have found a way to get the Police to pay them money. Whatever war on copyright infringement there might have been, I think it's safe to say that it is over.

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    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    1. Re:Hilarious by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...and the users using AdBlock will see what exactly ...?

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      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    2. Re:Hilarious by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, they are doing it with the cooperation of the ad-providers.

      It's more the 'put these ads up for us or we'll charge you for aiding criminal activity' type of cooperation.

    3. Re:Hilarious by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Property Rights? Trespass to Chattels? No abuse of state powers for private gain? How easily the mask slips when a few cold pounds are involved.

      But the people I feel really sorry for are the victims of crime in London, whose cases go unsolved due to precious police resources being wasted on internet nonsense like this.

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      May the Maths Be with you!
  2. Re: uno by bickerdyke · · Score: 4, Insightful

    youporn, pornhub and redtube?

    Real and respected brands in their field of business.

    In related news: Who is surfing to such sites without AdBlocker and NoScript shields up?

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    bickerdyke
  3. why do they even care? by jsepeta · · Score: 3, Insightful

    it's silly for the state to jump in and spend so much time, effort, and money on what is essentially a failure of business to demonstrate to people that their content is worth purchasing. free market rules, y'all

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    Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.