September 11th, 2007, 19:10
I see this news, below, on the net that the EU torrentspy website is blocking US users because they claim that US corporations like the MPAA are demanding user logs on American citizens, and the best way to get them off their backs so they don't feel compelled to break decent privacy standards is just to not have that data. So I look further and see that www.torrentspy.com (http://www.torrentspy.com) gets the "light blue screen of censorship" here in Thailand. I wonder, could Thailand be annoyed at US corporation misbehaivoir in privacy matters, too, and using the ICT censorship to make sure the data isn't here, as well? I have never heard of anything to do with torrent sites in Thailand yet. But if US corporations are pressuring the Thai government into such reactions I would like to know about it. Does anyone have any idea if there are specific reasons for torrent spy's blue screen? I don't remember hearing that torrentspy was disrespectful or something.
TorrentSpy Blocks American Search Requests
August 27, 2007
The EU (European Union) based BitTorrent search engine TorrentSpy has blocked those living in the United States from using the site's search engine. According to a statement on the site, TorrentSpy's owner Justin Bunnell was motivated by concerns that the privacy of US users could be compromised. The following appears when a US based user tries to submit a search request on TorrentSpy:
"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."
TorrentSpy has been engaged in a legal battle with the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) for over a year, as the entertainment group contends that the BitTorrent search engine is guilty of copyright infringement. The general feeling is that TorrentSpy might be compelled to hand over a log of its users' search requests as evidence.
To preempt this potentially devastating ruling to both TorrentSpy and the widely paranoid BitTorrent community, site owner Justin Bunnell has implemented a block which makes searching for torrents on the indexing site impossible for Americans. Now, if the court compels TorrentSpy to log and submit as evidence a database of search requests, there will be nothing to offer. Justin Bunnell of TorrentSpy answered several questions from Slyck regarding this development.
Slyck: What brought you to this decision?
Justin: Our desire to protect the privacy of our users
Slyck: Are you anticipating that [user's] search queries may be compromised at some point in the future?
Justin: Not on TorrentSpy. Google also fought to protect the privacy of their users in USA/Gonzales vs. Google.
Slyck: How does blocking queries protect the privacy of searches?
Justin: If no searches are possible then there is nothing the MPAA can demand from TorrentSpy about searches that will breach user privacy.
Slyck: Are you anticipating the judge in the case will rule that you must turn over such search requests?
Justin: It is hard to know for sure. As TorrentSpy is based in the EU we must comply with EU privacy laws and turning off USA traffic was the only way to guarantee that protection for our users
Slyck: Does this move protect you [and your organization] as well?
Justin: This decision does not have an effect on that either way.
Slyck: Does TorrentSpy have any past search queries on database that it could be forced to divulge?
Justin: No. TorrentSpy has never tracked searches made by users
Slyck: Then what privacy danger could there be if there's no database of tracked searches?
Justin: Evidently the MPAA believes that privacy and freedom of speech have no place in the 21st century. They are attempting to force us to start logging the actions of our users in direct contradiction to our privacy policy.
-end interview-
Previous BitTorrent sites with American administration such as EliteTorrents and LokiTorrents were eventually forced to hand over their user search logs. The exact repercussions of this handover were never understood. But the owners of these sites did not fare well against the MPAA. By disallowing searches by US based users, the ability of the MPAA to gather evidence may prove to be more difficult.
TorrentSpy Blocks American Search Requests
August 27, 2007
The EU (European Union) based BitTorrent search engine TorrentSpy has blocked those living in the United States from using the site's search engine. According to a statement on the site, TorrentSpy's owner Justin Bunnell was motivated by concerns that the privacy of US users could be compromised. The following appears when a US based user tries to submit a search request on TorrentSpy:
"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."
TorrentSpy has been engaged in a legal battle with the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) for over a year, as the entertainment group contends that the BitTorrent search engine is guilty of copyright infringement. The general feeling is that TorrentSpy might be compelled to hand over a log of its users' search requests as evidence.
To preempt this potentially devastating ruling to both TorrentSpy and the widely paranoid BitTorrent community, site owner Justin Bunnell has implemented a block which makes searching for torrents on the indexing site impossible for Americans. Now, if the court compels TorrentSpy to log and submit as evidence a database of search requests, there will be nothing to offer. Justin Bunnell of TorrentSpy answered several questions from Slyck regarding this development.
Slyck: What brought you to this decision?
Justin: Our desire to protect the privacy of our users
Slyck: Are you anticipating that [user's] search queries may be compromised at some point in the future?
Justin: Not on TorrentSpy. Google also fought to protect the privacy of their users in USA/Gonzales vs. Google.
Slyck: How does blocking queries protect the privacy of searches?
Justin: If no searches are possible then there is nothing the MPAA can demand from TorrentSpy about searches that will breach user privacy.
Slyck: Are you anticipating the judge in the case will rule that you must turn over such search requests?
Justin: It is hard to know for sure. As TorrentSpy is based in the EU we must comply with EU privacy laws and turning off USA traffic was the only way to guarantee that protection for our users
Slyck: Does this move protect you [and your organization] as well?
Justin: This decision does not have an effect on that either way.
Slyck: Does TorrentSpy have any past search queries on database that it could be forced to divulge?
Justin: No. TorrentSpy has never tracked searches made by users
Slyck: Then what privacy danger could there be if there's no database of tracked searches?
Justin: Evidently the MPAA believes that privacy and freedom of speech have no place in the 21st century. They are attempting to force us to start logging the actions of our users in direct contradiction to our privacy policy.
-end interview-
Previous BitTorrent sites with American administration such as EliteTorrents and LokiTorrents were eventually forced to hand over their user search logs. The exact repercussions of this handover were never understood. But the owners of these sites did not fare well against the MPAA. By disallowing searches by US based users, the ability of the MPAA to gather evidence may prove to be more difficult.