Reddit should have to identify users discussing piracy, film studios tell court | Hacker News Reader

Reddit should have to identify users discussing piracy, film studios tell court

arstechnica.com

74 pointseldaisfish25 comments

Movie industry lawyers really are a different breed. They have no shame, or boundaries. They'll hack the laws to pieces if it gets them what they want.

This is like... if you ran a fruit stand, and someone walked by and slipped on a banana peel. That person gets movie industry lawyers to take their case. In order to prove that you aren't doing enough to prevent this kind of accident, they ask the police to stop and frisk and check the IDs of everyone who merely looks at a banana within a 10 mile radius for the next month, and send that list to the lawyers. "We promise not to abuse this information".

Proof that the things you say on the internet — even anonymously — could come back to haunt you, even years later. Assume that it will, and be prepared for the consequences. Or, you know, abstain from discussing how you have commissioned your crimes.

Nah, this is a desperate move from the content mafia. None of those users, even if they could be identified would face any liability for what they wrote.

Being compelled to testify or otherwise elaborate the details a comment was based on is a liability in and of itself.

As for the original comment, there is also the third option of avoiding sites that will retain surveillance records for 8+ (!) years, and mitigate what they know about you when you do.

> I don't remember it was 8 years ago

also, being compelled to testify is a liability almost everywhere. See a traffic accident? Might need to testify. See a thief stealing food? Might need to testify.See a cop beat a Minority to deat? Might need to testify.That's just life in a civil society i suppose

Sure. But with the scenarios you've listed you're generally going to know if you witness an event that might turn into "a thing", rather than the possibility gradually accumulating based on every seemingly benign interaction. Also you're likely have a personal interest in seeing justice prevail, as opposed to this case where your time and resources are being abused by a cartel running a shakedown with bullshit laws they managed to purchase.

You're both probably right.

Right, it's complete hearsay. Look, I could say Comcast is lax about piracy right here. Am I telling the truth? Am I even a Comcast customer? It's total BS.

Nah, you can always argue that a hacker did it or some friend that was staying overnight used the computer, legally speaking.

Morally? That is different.

That argument has been attempted quite a lot for this type of case. Specifically for torrent downloading cases where people try to argue that someone else used their computer. I don't think it usually works as a defense.

When was the last time a "torrent case" even went to court?

> Proof that the things you say on the internet — even anonymously — could come back to haunt you, even years later. Assume that it will, and be prepared for the consequences. Or, you know, abstain from discussing how you have commissioned your crimes.

Because what other people say on internet can't be falsely attributed to you. Right? Or what you say on internet is a sworn statement and you can't lie, to for example get clout in community? People on internet only tell truth!

So, like, doxx them? Because Reddit does not have this information to begin with. Surely those studios are not naive enough to believe a mail address is generally helpful?

Reddit has their IP addresses, which have been used plenty of times in the past to convict people for internet piracy.

> Reddit has their IP addresses, which have been used plenty of times in the past to convict people for internet piracy.

Many things in the past were used to convict people, for example dreams other people had about them, lie detectors, blood splatters...

Reddit also has your email.

Sure. They, like almost every other company like that, has my fake email. Usually I use temp@yahoo.com.

Oh...wait...do some people actually use their real email addresses???

What is even the crime here? "This person requested a torrent link" "This person posted a torrent link". What do they expect to charge these people with, even if they could track them down? It isn't like anyone is uploading torrents directly to reddit.

I would assume they want the identities so they know who to investigate more closely. If you are commenting on a piracy sub-reddit, you are probably doing some torrenting.

These days they don’t even post links it’s more “has this content been posted?” “Yeah you can find it on <site name>”

Which is why reddit doesn’t remove it because it’s so removed from the actual downloading.

On that note, is it illegal (or does your service provider send you a warning) if you download a torrent link or does there have to be proof you downloaded the actual content of the link?

They are trying to frame the ISP for not doing anything against these people. And they want these people's info so they can testify against the ISP.

Where there's a will, there's a way. If people want to discuss something that is "banned" they will just use replacement words or find another place.

Anyone with an MVNO should have to publicly identify how they intend to offer better service than the underlying provider and any collusion or mismanagement that deliberately degrades connected devices.

I'm not much of a movie watcher, and I haven't been on Reddit in years. This makes me want to join and discuss piracy at great length.

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