Feds Seize Over 300 More Websites On Piracy Charges

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by light59, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. light59

    light59 Noisemaker

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    Feds Seize Over 300 More Websites On Piracy Charges


    Steve Watson
    London based writer -Prison Planet
    February 3, 2012

    Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have seized hundreds more website domain names in what has been described as a piracy crackdown.

    The agency announced Thursday that it had taken control of the domain names of 307 websites as part of “Operation Fake Sweep”. Most of the websites in question were said to be illegally selling and distributing counterfeit sporting merchandise.The domain seizure strategy is very similar to what both the Protect IP and SOPA pieces of legislation intend to do.



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoSPnKIKdmQ&feature=player_embedded​

    Sixteen of the websites had been set up to stream live NFL games as well as Sunday’s Super Bowl. Agents are said to have arrested a Michigan man, Yonjo Quiroa, who allegedly operated nine of the streaming sites. He has been charged with criminal copyright infringement.

    Anyone logging onto the websites now sees a seizure message that “notifies them that the domain name has been seized by federal authorities and educates them that willful copyright infringement is a federal crime.” ICE director John Morton explained in a statement.

    Morton added that most of the websites are based in China.

    “While most people are focusing on whether the Patriots or Giants will win on Sunday, we at ICE have our sights on a different type of victory: defeating the international counterfeiting rings that illegally profit off of this event,” the statement continues.

    “Our message is simple: abiding by intellectual property rights laws is not optional; it’s the law.”

    The Crackdown is part of a larger law enforcement initiative called “Operation In Our Sites,” which has seen a total of 669 domain names seized since its inception June 2010.

    While many of the websites that have been seized are indeed infringing copyright law, several legitimate websites have been seized by the government under the program.

    Dozens of websites were shut down merely for linking to copyrighted material, despite the fact that such material isn’t even hosted on the web site itself, a process the Electronic Frontier Foundation has criticized as, “Blunt instruments that cause unacceptable collateral damage to free speech rights.”

    In one case, the Department of Homeland Security seized a popular music blog and shut down the web site for over a year on charges it now admits were completely false.

    Last month, the FBI shut down one of the most popular file sharing sites, MegaUpload.com, for alleged copyright infringement, despite the fact that the site is legitimately used by thousands of people all over the world to transfer and store files.

    Shortly after the seizure of MegaUpload, it was revealed that the creators of the site had plans to effectively revolutionize the music industry by generating direct sales and ensuring artists received 90% of their earnings on songs that they sold.

    It is no secret that the music and film industry has been engaged in aggressively lobbying the government to crack down on piracy and re-write copyright laws to make them much broader in scope.

    The precedent being set by this activity is that the government can seize and shut down any website it says is violating copyright, even if the site is legitimately used by customers, or merely if the site links through to a violating source.

    This isn’t the first time the DOJ (Department of Justice) has seized domains on the basis of copyright violations. In November, the Justice Department shut down over 130 domains that were involved with streaming content illegally. Yet, this is the first time the government has managed to seize domains that feature the .tv extension. As TorrentFreak points out, the .tv extension belongs to the islands of Tuvalu, but it’s operated by U.S. security company Verisign. So apparently, the federal government has assumed the authority to not only shut down domains with extensions intended for the U.S., but also any domain extension that’s operated by a company within the U.S.

    Kind of makes you wonder why the government needed SOPA at all, doesn't it?
     
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  3. fraggle83

    fraggle83 Member

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    To me this simple phrase says it all about what "they" want in fact to happen all around the world ...

    Anyone who wants to control you DOESN'T need any law/act at all, he or she only needs one and only one simple thing to get FULL CONTROL on you ... which is:

    BRING ABOUT FEAR on you.

    Look, maybe you're not afraid off (or maybe yes who knows), but i believe that some people all around the world are beginning to have fear to go against what's happening.

    EDIT: UUH, yes ... One more thing: if we are really interested in bringing about a real change we'll need a lot of wisdom, not a lot of rage (as always has been BTW all along human history)

    That's my thinking on what you posted few minutes ago ...
    Kind Regards! :mates:
     
  4. light59

    light59 Noisemaker

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    I agree! The media controllers and the government have always relied on fear to control people. That's why everybody is fighting back by whatever means they can. We saw it in the US a month ago when people came fearlessly against Sopa and now in Europe as they're beginning to fight against Acta! This shows the wisdom and the power of "we the people." The government's greatest fear is having to deal with a fearless population! Cheers.
     
  5. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Audiosexual

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    that rounds it up perfectly and the US is really good in that. *yes*
     
  6. studio5599

    studio5599 Producer

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    This is what the Us Goverment spends there money on, in times like these with record breaking job losses and Home foreclosures! what A-holes
     
  7. panther5

    panther5 Kapellmeister

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    I can't help laughing at the dude in the video. He's the perfect replica of a Howdy Doody puppet with a stick shoved up his ass. In turn, he perfectly represents not just the U.S., but most worldwide government officials. I feel like most of you probably do; floating in a leaky boat atop a sea of human shit.
     
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