This ignominious Too.Late goes to the Gloucestershire County Council, UK, in association with a group called The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT www.fact-uk.org.uk) -- you didn't really think I'd actually dare create a link to them, did you? -- for shutting down and arresting a 26 year old who provided links to videos hosted on the internet. FACT went after this kid because it was the Cheap, Easy Kill instead of actually PURSUING THE LEGAL OFFENDERS, which include Google Video and others who host vast repositories of anachronistically-categorized illegal content.
Hell-ooo ... clearly, Google and others are the pirate video web sites here, not some kiddie site that merely points to that content.
The fact is that FACT's move is akin to the police arresting you because you told someone where to find an underground massage parlor or other house of similarly ill repute. Just because you TELL someone where they can go to find trouble does not mean that you forced them to go to the trouble, much less can you be held responsible for operating the trouble itself.
For example, your buddy goes to the Happy Endings massage parlor and the police come and arrest you. They don't go raid the parlor, they don't to shake down your buddy, they arrest YOU, because you told your buddy where he could find the trouble.
Hell-ooo ... clearly, Google and others are the pirate video web sites here, not some kiddie site that merely points to that content.
The fact is that FACT's move is akin to the police arresting you because you told someone where to find an underground massage parlor or other house of similarly ill repute. Just because you TELL someone where they can go to find trouble does not mean that you forced them to go to the trouble, much less can you be held responsible for operating the trouble itself.
For example, your buddy goes to the Happy Endings massage parlor and the police come and arrest you. They don't go raid the parlor, they don't to shake down your buddy, they arrest YOU, because you told your buddy where he could find the trouble.
A man is now in prison because he runs a site where other people can link to low-resolution tv shows, hosted by Google. FACT did not raid Google, they raided a site which merely links to TV shows.Additional useful coverage and clueful context by Reddit and GeeksAreSexy.
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