London Police Placing Anti-Piracy Warning Ads On Illegal Sites 160
mrspoonsi (2955715) writes "The City of London police has started placing banner advertisements on websites believed to be offering pirated content illegally. The messages, which will appear instead of paid-for ads, will ask users to close their web browsers. The move comes as part of a continuing effort to stop piracy sites from earning money through advertising. Police said the ads would make it harder for piracy site owners to make their pages look authentic. "When adverts from well known brands appear on illegal websites, they lend them a look of legitimacy and inadvertently fool consumers into thinking the site is authentic," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu). "This new initiative is another step forward for the unit in tackling IP crime and disrupting criminal profits. "Copyright infringing websites are making huge sums of money though advert placement, therefore disrupting advertising on these sites is crucial and this is why it is an integral part of Operation Creative.""
uno (Score:2, Insightful)
I think piratebay is very authentic, irrelevantly of what is thought of its legality.
Hilarious (Score:5, Insightful)
Piracy sites have found a way to get the Police to pay them money. Whatever war on copyright infringement there might have been, I think it's safe to say that it is over.
pre-crime (Score:2, Insightful)
Apparently the rule "innocent until proven guilty" does not apply to "websites", as evidenced by the city of london police.
This police bunch, it is worth noting, is the police force of the "square mile", which is pretty much run by private corporations, making this essentially a private police force in government-backed livery. It is not strange that it would be acting "proactive" and "innovative" and whatnot in furtherance of private corporate goals.
what a tremendous use of police resources (Score:2, Insightful)
Giving how much tax money all these corporations are paying, with absolutely no dodging of any taxes, it's really great to see the police devote so much time and resources to protecting these companies' revenue streams. Almost all the murderers, rapists, and thieves have been locked up. There's very little to no fraud going on in any industries, especially the financial sector who has a primary hub in London. We should definitely cheer on the police in this latest endeavour of serving and protecting corporate interests.
Re:Hilarious (Score:5, Insightful)
...and the users using AdBlock will see what exactly ...?
Re:Might fine police work there, Lou! (Score:2, Insightful)
No one confuses Rapidshare for BMG's official site. People go there specifically to download pirated content, full stop. Seeing police ads might scare a few people with the paranoia of thinking "the man" has caught them, but the other 99% of visitors will just thank the police for subsidizing their favorite warez sites.
I know that this is slashdot, and that you therefore feel justified in being an ignorant idiot and spouting off without RTFAing, and you're in quite a bit of company: lots of other idiots are saying the same stupid shit you're saying. But the article makes it clear that "Neither the police or Project Sunblock are paying the website in question to display the police message". They're just suppressing the banner display, and displaying a police message instead.
Truly pathetic, Boys in Blue (Hmm, do Bobbies wear blue?)
Pathetic is deciding you know how the system works without R'ing TFA, and as a result, being a F'n I.
BRILLIANT!
Said no one about you ever.
Re:IP Crime? (Score:2, Insightful)
It's the crime of intercepting data involving the Internet Protocol and modifying or blocking data. Because we as a civilized world finally came to realize one of the greatest crimes against humanity was manipulating or censoring what others say or think and the Internet is clearly a global medium that represents humanity's great communication, inter-connectivity breakthrough.
Sorry, I'm just kidding. This is all about money. And fictitious, government-created property. "Intellectual" property: because it's only marginally important to protect the intellectuals work in academia--plagiarism is the higher crime there--and we care so very much about the barely intellectual multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. Oh and advancing the arts and the sciences. Because fuck knows the study of material sciences, development of new technology, etc aren't inherently spurred by the competition inherent in capitalism. Or that there's such a low barrier to entry that merely knowing this stuff is enough to fundamentally undermine the big players that are responsible for such advances.
Get back to me when we all have nano printers and as a society actually respect academia or art at more than the most superficial level.
Re: uno (Score:5, Insightful)
youporn, pornhub and redtube?
Real and respected brands in their field of business.
In related news: Who is surfing to such sites without AdBlocker and NoScript shields up?
Re:Hilarious (Score:4, Insightful)
No, they are doing it with the cooperation of the ad-providers.
It's more the 'put these ads up for us or we'll charge you for aiding criminal activity' type of cooperation.
Re:Hilarious (Score:4, Insightful)
Property Rights? Trespass to Chattels? No abuse of state powers for private gain? How easily the mask slips when a few cold pounds are involved.
But the people I feel really sorry for are the victims of crime in London, whose cases go unsolved due to precious police resources being wasted on internet nonsense like this.
why do they even care? (Score:4, Insightful)
it's silly for the state to jump in and spend so much time, effort, and money on what is essentially a failure of business to demonstrate to people that their content is worth purchasing. free market rules, y'all