TorrentFreak

• enigmax
• December 15, 2011
• 131
• Sarkozy
• Print

French President Nicholas Sarkozy is a man who has championed some of the most aggressive anti-piracy legislation in Europe. But today it’s revealed that the occupants of his very own office and home are responsible for a nice selection of pirate downloads using BitTorrent. Three strikes? Those with access to the Presidential Palace’s IP addresses have already doubled that quota.

Located near the Champs-Élysées in the French capital, Paris, the Élysée Palace is the official residence of President Sarkozy. As husband of ‘first lady’ and musician Carla Bruni, Sarkozy has helped promote and push through some of the toughest anti-filesharing legislation to be found anywhere in Europe.

Those provisions include Internet disconnections for persistent pirates, and as of October this year 60 French Internet subscribers were on their third and final strike.

This morning, however, we’re left wondering if Sarkozy, his family and French ministers will be able to answer any emails in the months to come.

As reported to TorrentFreak this morning by Nicolas Perrier of Nikopik, people using IP addresses allocated to the Élysée Palace (62.160.71.0 – 62.160.71.255) have been very naughty indeed.

According to data from YouHaveDownloaded.com, a range of downloads have been actioned from the Palace including a cam copy of Tower Heist, a telesync copy of Arthur Christmas, and music from The Beach Boys. The latter was actually a lossless FLAC rip, but as one might expect, only the best quality will do for the Palace.

In total six infringing downloads were tracked back to Sarkozy’s residence, double the country’s three-strike limit.

It’s been an embarrassing few days for some not-so-secret users of BitTorrent. The IP addresses of several entertainment companies were reported as connected to allegedly infringing activity earlier this week using the same methods.

But while the reports from YouHaveDownloaded certainly have discussion value, it is worth noting that their data collection methods are just as untested as those employed by many private anti-piracy companies and their notoriously secretive ‘proprietary software’. The difference is, however, YHD aren’t using their data for the filing of lawsuits and getting people cut off from the Internet.

BitTorrent users are increasingly aware that their activities are public – those that monitor them for the purposes of punitive responses should experience the same standard. Finally, on the subject of equality, any predictions on odds for the Palace being disconnected for piracy? Save your money folks, some bets are a lost cause.

Located near the Champs-Élysées in the French capital, Paris, the Élysée Palace is the official residence of President Sarkozy. As husband of ‘first lady’ and musician Carla Bruni, Sarkozy has...