6 ms·

In denmark all access to thepiratebay has been blocked by the major internet providers. When you go to any piratebay page you get this: http://www.maximise.dk/t

by mixmax 18y ago

In denmark all access to thepiratebay has been blocked by the major internet providers. When you go to any piratebay page you get this: http://www.maximise.dk/temp/STOP.htm http://www.maximise.dk/temp/STOP.htm (translated: http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maximise.dk%2Ftemp%2FSTOP.htm&sl=da&tl=en&history_state0=&swap=1 http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=_t&hl=en&...) It's based on a court decision where IFPI (association of record companies) sued Danish Internet providers, claiming that since illegal content could be downloaded from thepiratebay all access should be blocked. Unfortunately they won, meaning that I can't read this post (Well, I can, but non-tech savvy users can't) and that I can't get linux torrents, and other legal content. Looking at the court case Google, youtube, and many other sites should also be blocked since they also give a user the possibility of locating and downloading illegal content. But I guess these targets are too big... It's absolutely appalling and a clear breach of free speech.

jacquesm 18y ago
I think the largest factor in targeting the pirate bay is that they are not pretending to be anything but a source of pointers to possibly illegal information, google, youtube and so on can spend millions on their defense and have a clearly legal use as well. The pirate bay has a much harder time making that case and is a softer target.
- mixmax 18y ago
  I have two problems with this case: 1) Thepiratebay's blog is also covered, thus making it impossible for them to state their case to the people. Effectively their voice is censored by the ban. 2) Thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. Banning something that isn't illegal borders on totallitarian.
  - jacoblyles 18y ago
    > "Thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. Banning something that isn't illegal borders on totallitarian." I'm confused. I thought you said it was banned in Denmark, not Sweden. What does Swedish law matter if you're a Dane?
    - gustaf 18y ago
      It's not banned by the Danish state but by the Danish ISP's. The piratebay is not illagel in Sweden (yet) in the sense that last time there was a court case about the legality of linking to copyrighted material it was found to be legal. I think this was in 1995 or something. If The Piratebay is found illegal then the ISP's will not go after the site but they will go after ISP's and force them to block the URL like they have in Denmark
- ensignavenger 18y ago
  The Pirate Bay has many clearly legal uses, as well.
  - jacoblyles 18y ago
    What percentage of Pirate Bay traffic do you think is legal usage? I'm guessing less than 1%. What percentage of Google's traffic do you think is legal? I would guess at least 80%. These things matter in court.
    - jacquesm 18y ago
      Exactly. That does not detract from the simple fact that the pirate bay itself does not distribute anything illegal at all, and in that respect they are as legal as any other site that produces pointers to information. The problem here is that it has turned out to be notoriously hard to go after the distributors of the files so now the legal spotlight has turned on the distributors of the whereabouts of those files. I once wrote a bit about this stating in brief that the piratebay is the internet equivalent of saying that you know where there is a bicycle standing without a lock, clearly that should be legal. STEALING the bicycle is illegal.
      - jacoblyles 18y ago
        What if someone made a magical index of all the bikes in the city that are unattended and unlocked? Should that be legal?
        Brushfire 18y ago
        Sure. Its definitely not ideal for the bike owners, but that doesn't mean it should be outlawed. There are many reasons this would be legit information to have and possess, and not all of them are nefarious in nature. Using your logic, should we also restrict websites that track campaign donations, just becuase the campaigners find it painful to their process? The assembly of information is rarely a bad thing. Theft of said bikes is the 'bad thing'. Punish the people stealing, not the people creating maps. Plus many organizations, including many governments, perform equally line-skirting things when collecting credit data, purchasing information, and private information. At least if it is public, you could see that your bike is known to be unlocked, so you could do something about it. The pirate bay is seen/treated differently than all other user-content-generated sites, but it shouldnt be. Fair is fair.
richardw 18y ago
Google is in court because they're big and have money. They also make a good effort at removing illegal content. TPB doesn't, AFAIK. Seriously, it's nice to get free stuff but then why have any laws? May as well just take what you want from whoever has it.
- mixmax 18y ago
  thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. There's a reason power is divided into a legislative, judicial and executive branch in a democracy. This is very clearly a case of the judicial branch being bent by the recording industry. Since TBP isn't illegal there should be no case. If the legislative branch sees a problem and changes the law it's a very different scenario.
  - ensignavenger 18y ago
    Actually, there are no branches in a democracy- all decisions are made by a vote of the people. What you describe, my friend, is a Republic. But your point is still valid.
    - mixmax 18y ago
      Sorry about that, my history and social sciences are a little rusty :-)
      - ensignavenger 18y ago
        That is quite all right- confusing a Democracy with a Republic is a common misconception, one which I feel obliged to correct as often as possible.

by mixmax 18y ago

jacquesm 18y ago

I think the largest factor in targeting the pirate bay is that they are not pretending to be anything but a source of pointers to possibly illegal information, google, youtube and so on can spend millions on their defense and have a clearly legal use as well. The pirate bay has a much harder time making that case and is a softer target.

mixmax 18y ago
I have two problems with this case: 1) Thepiratebay's blog is also covered, thus making it impossible for them to state their case to the people. Effectively their voice is censored by the ban. 2) Thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. Banning something that isn't illegal borders on totallitarian.
- jacoblyles 18y ago
  > "Thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. Banning something that isn't illegal borders on totallitarian." I'm confused. I thought you said it was banned in Denmark, not Sweden. What does Swedish law matter if you're a Dane?
  - gustaf 18y ago
    It's not banned by the Danish state but by the Danish ISP's. The piratebay is not illagel in Sweden (yet) in the sense that last time there was a court case about the legality of linking to copyrighted material it was found to be legal. I think this was in 1995 or something. If The Piratebay is found illegal then the ISP's will not go after the site but they will go after ISP's and force them to block the URL like they have in Denmark
ensignavenger 18y ago
The Pirate Bay has many clearly legal uses, as well.
- jacoblyles 18y ago
  What percentage of Pirate Bay traffic do you think is legal usage? I'm guessing less than 1%. What percentage of Google's traffic do you think is legal? I would guess at least 80%. These things matter in court.
  - jacquesm 18y ago
    Exactly. That does not detract from the simple fact that the pirate bay itself does not distribute anything illegal at all, and in that respect they are as legal as any other site that produces pointers to information. The problem here is that it has turned out to be notoriously hard to go after the distributors of the files so now the legal spotlight has turned on the distributors of the whereabouts of those files. I once wrote a bit about this stating in brief that the piratebay is the internet equivalent of saying that you know where there is a bicycle standing without a lock, clearly that should be legal. STEALING the bicycle is illegal.
    - jacoblyles 18y ago
      What if someone made a magical index of all the bikes in the city that are unattended and unlocked? Should that be legal?
      - Brushfire 18y ago
        Sure. Its definitely not ideal for the bike owners, but that doesn't mean it should be outlawed. There are many reasons this would be legit information to have and possess, and not all of them are nefarious in nature. Using your logic, should we also restrict websites that track campaign donations, just becuase the campaigners find it painful to their process? The assembly of information is rarely a bad thing. Theft of said bikes is the 'bad thing'. Punish the people stealing, not the people creating maps. Plus many organizations, including many governments, perform equally line-skirting things when collecting credit data, purchasing information, and private information. At least if it is public, you could see that your bike is known to be unlocked, so you could do something about it. The pirate bay is seen/treated differently than all other user-content-generated sites, but it shouldnt be. Fair is fair.

richardw 18y ago

Google is in court because they're big and have money. They also make a good effort at removing illegal content. TPB doesn't, AFAIK. Seriously, it's nice to get free stuff but then why have any laws? May as well just take what you want from whoever has it.

mixmax 18y ago
thepiratebay isn't illegal in Sweden. There's a reason power is divided into a legislative, judicial and executive branch in a democracy. This is very clearly a case of the judicial branch being bent by the recording industry. Since TBP isn't illegal there should be no case. If the legislative branch sees a problem and changes the law it's a very different scenario.
- ensignavenger 18y ago
  Actually, there are no branches in a democracy- all decisions are made by a vote of the people. What you describe, my friend, is a Republic. But your point is still valid.
  - mixmax 18y ago
    Sorry about that, my history and social sciences are a little rusty :-)
    - ensignavenger 18y ago
      That is quite all right- confusing a Democracy with a Republic is a common misconception, one which I feel obliged to correct as often as possible.