BitTorrent Site Admin Sent to Prison
Written by Ernesto on October 26, 2006The 23 year old Grant Stanley has been sentenced to five months in prison, followed by five months of home detention, and a $3000 fine for the work he put in the private BitTorrent tracker Elitetorrents.
This ruling is the first BitTorrent related conviction in the US. Stanley pleaded guilty earlier this year to “conspiracy to commit copyright infringement” and “criminal copyright infringement”. He is one of the three defendants in the Elitetorrents operation better known as “Operation D-Elite”.
Operation D-Elite (they love word tricks) was orchestrated by the FBI with a little help from the MPAA in May 2005, and resulted in the shutdown of one of the largest private BitTorrent trackers at that time.
FBI Take home Message that replaced the Homepage of Elitetorrents after the shutdown
Two months ago we reported that Scott McCausland pleaded guilty to committing the same crimes. Scott is to be sentenced on December 12, 2006, and invited everyone who sympathizes with him to write a letter to the judge on his behalf.
In a response to the present case US Attorney John Brownlee said:
“This is the first criminal enforcement action against copyright infringement on a P2P network using BitTorrent technology. We hope this case sends the message that cyberspace will not provide a shield of anonymity for those who choose to break our copyright laws.”
Stay tuned…
Previously: Underage Finnish BitTorrent admins fined $60,000 each
Next: Free full-length horror films on BitTorrent.com
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hmm, boohoo? too many crappy music artists around anyway.
i’m sorry, is anyone dying in iraq over this “horrific” crime?
Just found your blog on Google and really enjoyed your writing style. Picked up a couple of great ideas so Im adding your blog to my Bloglines account to share with others.
I think the problem here is content. If your selling a movie that somebody will only want to watch once, then yes we are talking about alot of lost revenue. But if this is a movie you would see in the theatre and want to own the DVD to see all the special features and watch it again and again, then isnt P2P sharing really just another form of advertising? Same goes for music. a CD has 10 songs in a cheap plastic case, with no bonus video or cool artwork, then download it. Its about people tired of being fed the same bullshit. If art(music/video/books) is actually art then people will want to support it. I know lots of people that download stuff to try it out, and if they like it they purchase the original. I also know of alot of artists that dont have a problem with downloading. I dont know what to say about software, i dont download software except for trial versions, and if i like it i purchase. Sucks that people are going to jail for this but theyll be able to write books about it and sell them on Opra, so smile for the cover jacket. :D
Imagine this…
Inmate: what you in for?
Stanley: Copyrigh infrignment
Inamte: Really, Im in for man slaugter
I agree with Charon Why isn’t the FBI focused on REAL Criminals rather than cyber ones… Its a waste of time they could be using there resourses so much better to track down REAL criminals… this is just stupid
fuck the fbi mmmmmmmmmmmmmkkkkkkk
i love torrents and there still going strong….infact….even stronger than ever before…soooooooooo fuck the police fuck the police fuck em
its obvious the laws ar’nt keeping up with the technology.The copyright laws were written for books and records,with a few changes peged on when TV and video recorders came about.It dosnt aply to the internet , BUT it is a good way for big companies like Warners to protect their $$stash
by lobbying the US polititians.Power in the hands of the rich ‘AGAIN”.
Im building a social site for shareing home movies , but with a twist, we dont have admin .
all the admin stuff is decided apon by members,cause were to lazy to maintain etc.the problem is when we went to lawyers about the obvious copyright issues ,there is no clause for interactive wiki style upgradeing of websites.Even if we have the members doing the admin sign employment forms!!So even if the community is the admin, i get chucked in jail cause im the creator.
My site:www.chair2there.com
when are the US citizens guna realise it ai’nt a democracy if the masses have no power or rights and their polititians only listen to rich lobbiests????
Do it safer. Do it better. Do it faster. Before you can’t do it anymore.
Read this guys, How to get everything online for free hacks. Good stuff.
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1174909/3256425/
Move to Canada, download until your hard drive is full, quit the scene, write an ebook, give it away on demonoid.
Find out you still have to delete all that shit on your hard drives, because your ebook got to popular. Support the scene. I agree with feedbacker, a drive is in order.
I used to be a tiny small part of the inner strength which damned and destroyed USSR.Well, later on canadian immigration authorities made everything to lock me in jewish country. And today another authorities trying to terminate my free access tothe CULTURE. No way!I’m NOT a terrorist, just LET THE POWER ($) FALL.And I do not care about any democracy wherever demo = asshole. That’s true…I like George Orwell, Robert Fripp, Bill Rieflin and many more.
i say fuck it and lets all just move to canada
Solution is simple folks.. FTP through VPN. Screw US gov and any legal bandits in any office. Let them have fun
trying to get to my 5 level segregated network FTP server. Not everyone is a noob like the FBI. And yes it is all
about control. Look at Microshits!! (UNIX kicks ass!) And they’re dessacrating the true intent of the creation of
the internet, which was for the freedom of data and information exchange. Way to destroy the dream. I wonder if
God spoke to Dumbass Bush directly again about this!? Stupid misguided retard her is! He’s the biggest threat to
everyone’s freedom itself.
Ever since that moron has been in office he’s threatened everyone’s civil rights and liberties from day 1. First
clue he’s a retard is the fact for the longest time that uneducated moron couldn’t even pronounce “nucLear”
properly. Right M. Nukilar White house fucktard?!? JFK was taken out for less than this idiot has caused. Not to
mention R. Reagan had an attempt on his life too and the man was a good man as far as I know. Ok he was a bit of
a dweeb, I agree, but a good man non-the-less. The million dollar question remains why is this current redneck
retard still breathing? Another thing that scares me silly today is the way Bush brains is taunting the Koreans..
If his track record keeps up it’s just a matter of time before he fucks up with them and *WE* all end up paying
for his lack of intelligence!
And todays north american democracy is nothing less than a hypocritical Dictatorship. Keyword there is DIC! At
least in a dictatorship you don’t waste your time and money voting! If Bush’s intent really was to get rid of all
weapons of mass destruction, he’d of hung himself the second day in office! We’d all be happier for it! Not to
mention safer!
As far as Copyright infrigements are concerned, no one complained back in the 80’s when you’d sit there in front
of your sound system waiting for your favorite song to come on and record it! as far as I’m concerned, this is no
fucking different! Live with it you fucking rich ass holes! If I really like what I hear, of course I’ll
encourage my favorite band by buying their material anyways. Just to get the original box and lyrics. Even tho I
know for a fact that the artists get literally pennies off the purchase price. Over 85% of the price you pay for
a CD goes right the Label company, 10%+ goes to the retail store, and then the artists are forced to pick up the scraps and made to look like a hurd of wild pigs, when in fact it’s everyone else who shamelessly rob the artists!! Fucking dick-head thieves!! So bottom line, FBI, go fuck yourselves or go after the REAL crooks and leave us alone you fucking sell-outs!
HA! Like piracy and the internet can EVER be stopped or controlled! There are too many hellbent genocidal NERDS out there like me. What will the internet inevitably destroy next…..? MWAHAHA!!!
[quote comment="17426"]Dam that rele sucks…..
if those bastards ever come after me ill make sure i dont give up without a fight even if it means destroying my hdd as they break in the door[/quote]
Congratulations for adding to the collection of immature comments on this post. First, destruction of evidence will get you in even more trouble. Second, if you are actually doing anything illegal (and BitTorrent is very shaky ground — somewhat extralegal, in fact) you are going to be prosecuted either way. And finally, Feds won’t come and break in to your house; they’ll send you a letter telling you to turn up in court.
Much like that CEO whose name escapes me, sometimes being charged with destroying evidence carries a lesser penalty than the actual thing you’re being tried for.
If you’re a big-head pirate (not a torrent admin), destroying your hard drives might be the best strategy, but only if the cost of being found guilty outweighs the punishment for perjury.
You all are so screwed…
The RIAA/MPAA and their master evil entertainement company can sue the entire planet and shut down the all internet it will not make us buy any crap from them again until the are dead in the sand!
BOYCOTT! BOYCOTT! BOYCOTT! AND BOYCOTT!
We need to take back our countries and fre ourselves from all these evil multinational corporations, TV movies, music banking! let clean the place folks!
Don’t bother with the law. it is not our law. Don’t bother with judges and attorneys! The game is rigged against us and we should not be playing with all these parasites anymore.
No Justice No Piece!
No Justice No Piece!
No Justice No Piece!
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