Pirates of the Internet

by Bonachichi

There is a world out there that nobody really talks about. It’s the world of torrents. Torrent technology is really, just a file transfer technology. It is insanely efficient and easy to use. People don’t talk about torrents because if you’re using them, you’re probably breaking the law. Torrents aren’t themselves illegal; they are usually used to carry out activities that are at best, questionably legal.

In a legal sense, let’s say that I had some free software to help your PCs. I could upload it to a torrent site. You would go to that site, download the software I’d put there, then use it. I’ve been tempted to do just that. Except the torrent world holds a lot of temptation. Gee, you see the latest blockbuster movie there. It’s just a download, right? You weren’t going to go see it anyway, but since it’s right there and free, why not? This is the heart of the torrent controversy.

You don’t hear much about torrents here in the U.S. They’re big news in Europe and parts of Asia; even Australia. Our movie industry, the MPAA, has gained a terrible reputation for strong-arm tactics it uses to stop this file sharing. They’re not the only ones. Sometimes people will download what they think is the newest “great” movie, book, CD or game and get a piece of software that either reports you to some international police organization, posts embarrassing information about what’s on your PC, or really screws up your computer. Not to worry, the torrent world is fighting back, and it’s a laugh a minute.

The MPAA got its own when someone hacked into their website and helpfully made torrents available directly from their webpage. Embarrassing, really. The arch-rival of the world’s most infamous pirate site, Henrik Pontén got the surprise of his life when he discovered his name had been legally changed to Pirate Pontén, courtesy of some hackers to Sweden’s tax authority. Europe’s largest electronics retailer (slogan, “I am not stupid”) got caught pirating Blu-Ray discs to demo the video on MacBooks.

A Spanish politician was fined $40,000 when her daughter downloaded an episode of a popular U.S. television show onto a government computer. Finally, with the push for tougher anti-piracy legislation world-wide, some entrepreneurs have embarked on a construction project to build new prisons to house an expected influx of inmates convicted of piracy. You can book your very own cell now.

Many of us are guilty of piracy without even knowing it. For instance including a link to a youtube video in a blog that is later recognized as copyrighted material makes the blog writer and administrator guilty of piracy. If you read the blog and perchance download the cute video to share with friends and family, you too, are a pirate. It’s like taking extra napkins home from McDonald’s. It’s stealing but we all do it, inadvertently or not. How do you feel about being a pirate?