TorrentSpy Blocks Searches From US Visitors
Written by Ernesto on August 27, 2007Starting today, TorrentSpy blocks all searches from US visitors and redirects them to a privacy statement. TorrentSpy is caught up in a lawsuit in which the MPAA demands that TorrentSpy hands over all user info stored in “random access memory” (RAM).
This service denial seems to be a preventative measure to protect their users, when US users try to search on TorrentSpy they now get this message:
Sorry, but because you are located in the USA you cannot use the search features of the Torrentspy.com website.Torrentspy’s decision to stop accepting US visitors was NOT compelled by any Court but rather an uncertain legal climate in the US regarding user privacy and an apparent tension between US and European Union privacy laws.
The search redirect will be permanent, TorrentSpy owner Justin Bunnell told TorrentFreak: “We must comply with European Union privacy laws and turning off USA traffic was the only way to guarantee that protection for our users. It is not something with a time limit.”. Over 15% of TorrentSpy’s visitors are US residents, shutting them down for good will be a disaster for the site.
We also asked Justin how he thinks this will affect the future of TorrentSpy, and he responded: “Whatever future awaits, the innovations of peer-to-peer technology and the jobs and opportunities it creates will take place outside of the USA.”
TorrentSpy currently does not log any user data, but if the court decides that they have to hand over all information stored in RAM, this would be a huge blow to Internet privacy. The MPAA reasons that all IPs, downloaded .torrent files, dates and other user info are temporarily stored in RAM for a few milliseconds and demands that TorrentSpy logs this info and hands it over to the MPAA. Basically they are demanding that TorrentSpy should keep server logs (pdf link).
TorrentSpy lawyer Ira Rothken is determined to fight this but said in a statement about the case: “The odds favor the copyright owners, copyright law in this country is Draconian and dramatically skewed on the owner’s side”.
Everything TorrentSpy does also applies to other search engines according to the TorrentSpy defense. Last year, when the case started, Rothken said “It [TorrentSpy] cannot be held ‘tertiary’ liable for visitors’ conduct that occurs away from its web search engine”. TorrentSpy claims it did nothing illegal and suggested the MPAA should sue Google.
To be continued…
Update: A federal judge ruled that TorrentSpy must log all data stored in RAM, this is why TorrentSpy blocked the searches.
Previously: Anime Distributor Has No Legal Right to Threaten BitTorrent Users
Next: GetAmnesty.com: MPAA Extortion at its Finest
114 Responses
Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 » Show All
I applaud thee torrentspy. Thanks for protecting those of us unfortunate enough to live in a the same country as the RIAA.
[quote comment="153788"]I applaud thee torrentspy. Thanks for protecting those of us unfortunate enough to live in a the same country as the RIAA.[/quote]
Ahh and MPAA
Isn’t RAM refreshed all the time and nothing is permanently stored?
I guess that is why there are so many IT Technicians out there, to help people that are retarded in the computer field, or who are just clueless and simply need help.
In this case, it is the former.
However, almost all servers do take take logs of some kind and store in on the HDD (hard disk drive) permanently. So if the prosecutors find such logs this way, then many of us are screwed, unless we changed ISPs (Chaging ISP = change in IP)recently and haven’t gone to TorrentSpy.
Unless the admins made backups (which everyone should know how to do and do, data is the most expensive part of the PC)and physically destroyed the original drives (you can’t simply reformat and install an OS, there are many tools that can recover data from a previous format) and hid the backups somewhere. (Although that would be like [don't know the proper term for this] “hiding” evidence relevant to the case, which will put them in deep crap. [correct if I am wrong])
It is true that the MPAA should sue Google, along with Yahoo!, AOL (the built-in search engine that I assume it contains), AltaVista, and thousands of other search engines.
screw TorrentSPY, suprNOVA IS BACK!
hey no worries, if your in the U.S just use one of the Anonymous surf deals and you can get back on Torrentspy.com and they dont have to worry about your info and ndither do you !! try Anonymousatwork.com
does anybody know how to FUCK the RIAA/MPAA? everybody says fuck the mafiaa but does saying fuck the mafiaa actually fuck them? it seems to me that the mafiaa is laughing all the way to the bank every time somebody says fuck the mafiaa. what methods are you people using to actually fuck the mafiaa? i would like to know. the mpaa just had record box office summer season. the don’t seem like they got fucked to me. do people say fuck the mafiaa and secretly go to the movies or buy cd’s? WTF.
Well, I’m north of the US Border, seems like our politicians and judges have balls or at least half of them to not go out and sue and jail users here.
Why is the issue of RAM creating so much confusion . Most Internet companies like TS have zero downtime servers and its not one server but a robust cluster of many servers . All the court is asking is to run a timely process which will run on the server and will create a log about all the users who are currently using the server.
They should just set up a web based proxy and have a link/auto-redirect for users in the US to use.
I think someone does not know geography. Guam is apart of the US. It is 14 degrees north and 140 degrees west. I still get to torrentspy.com. Is that a little more clear? Also, US copyright laws apply here. So I dont see how effective this block is. But it is obviously another demonstration of how anonymous bittorrent really is. Viva le Bittorrent! (no i am not french or spanish)
what’s a good list of free to use IP addies? use the wrong one your ass is grass…
the web proxy at http://unblocktorrentspy.com works fine for me, wee!
i didnt read everyones post.. but couldnt you just use a proxy to get to the site…?
Or that is if you can find one that isnt hosted in the US
lol i shouldve read the post right before me! :)
but i bet… torrentspy doesnt care… as long as it doesnt look like they have any vistors from the US then they should be fine
i used a program called tor on
firefox and still accessed
torrentspy search.
Screw the control freaks.
10 references to this post
Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 » Show All
Responses are closed
All remaining responses will continue to be archived. Thanks to all who made serious comments.