TV Links Raided, Operator Arrested

NetDanzr writes "TV Links, a Web site that provided links to hundreds of movies, documentaries, TV shows and cartoons hosted on streaming media sites such as Google Video and YouTube, has been raided by UK authorities. The site's operator was also arrested, The Guardian reports. Even though the site has not hosted any pirated content, it was a thorn in the side of movie and TV studios, thanks to having links to newest movies and TV shows. As the largest site of its kind, it showcased the power of user-driven Internet, with the site's visitors helping to keep links to content constantly updated."

I didn't know this existed

I didn't know this existed but now that I do I would really like to know what other websites have the same type of conent.

A little help?

Re:I didn't know this existed

Nice try, MPAA!

Re:I didn't know this existed

http://tvrss.net [tvrss.net]

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In related news, TVRSS was shut down. Slashdot was also shut down for linking the linkers. CowboyNeal was quoted as saying "In soviet russia, Internet links you!"

Re:I didn't know this existed

I gave up cable to cut costs. Now I'm out many of my shows. Damn! Should have Mirrored.

We all feel very sorry that the movie/TV studios are stealing your money that way, I am sure.

To compensate, try cutting the fuel costs by siphoning off the neighbours' gasoline.

Power Play

Yeah, although it existed, I dont' know what the law states in the EU as to linking to protected content. This might just be a power play by the studios to make an example of them. I have a feeling this is going to be similar to the raid that was done on the pirate bay servers, and in a few months they will drop the charges, after almost or completely bankrupting this poor sap.

Re:Power Play

The public trust in the legal system will be reduced even more.

It's sad that the effort put in by the police at personal property crime is so low that most cases are dismissed within a few months while they can pull in a huge number of people for an effort like this.

And then the police are complaining about that ordinary people takes the law into their own hands.

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I'd normally argue that the guy broke the law, and got arrested....so what?

Nut that's a good comment that deserves addressing...watch this...

"The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (from where I am posting) lives at number 10 Downing Street, Londo

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I just broke the Official Secrets Act. Seriously. That's a pretty heavy crime, and it's easy enough to trace me with evidence like that.

Err, no. Firstly, that's not a secret, and secondly unless you've signed the official secrets act, you're not covered

Re: Official Secrets Act

Where do you get the idea that you need to "sign the Official Secrets Act" in order to be covered by its provisions? Nobody has to "sign the Official Secrets Act" but as a Crown servant (or contractor) one is required to sign a piece of paper which acknow

Re:I didn't know this existed

What I don't understand is, why shut it down? I mean, here is a site, leveraging user content to provide the MPAA and such with direct links to content that is in violation. This seems like the perfect way to quickly and easily send massive amounts of DMCA takedown notices and such. The users of pirated content provide the latest, best links to pirated content for you to have taken down.

They might have just killed something they could have used as a great tool.

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With the rate at which content was getting taken down, I thought that this was actually true.

Re:I didn't know this existed

Most of the actual content was hosted on foreign servers in asia/europe, so a DMCA takedown notice would have done diddly squat to remove it.

Dont you get it yet?

This is not about 'protecting' copyright.

This is about CONTROL.

What better way to avoid spending all the courts time issuing takedown notices than to SCARE those using this site, and OTHER sites to stop doing what they are doing?

Be very wary of those who go after the organizers of people, for their motives might not be something you can even imagine

wtf?

Hang on to your tinfoil hat there a minute. Don't big this up into being some fascist state bullshit. this was not 'the organizers of people' it was not a radical anti-government organization encouraging political debate, or suggesting political change. it

Re:wtf?

The MPAA is going after the organizers of people, not the people who are actually doing things illegal. Cue grandparent post.

Re:wtf?

The difference is of course that drug kingpins, top brass, and violent gangs are actually doing something illegal.

caches

http://web.archive.org/web/20070711035656/http://tv-links.co.uk/ [archive.org]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Ftv-links.co.uk%2F&btnG=Google+Search [google.com]

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Cache won't be useful for long with stuff constantly being taken down.

Legal Information

From their 'Legal' page:

Legal

TV Links is not responsible for any content linked to or referred to from these pages.

TV Links does not host any content on our Servers

All video links point to content hosted on third party webites. Users who upload to these websites agree not to upload illegal content when creating their user accounts. TV Links does not accept responsibility for content hosted on third party websites.

If you have any legal queries please email [e-mail]

It seems they at least talked to a lawyer beforehand. They never hosted the actual content in question. Taking their servers has eliminated exactly zero pirated works from the internet. This will be a tough one to prosecute.

Another good one

Alluc.org [alluc.org]

I'm so excited...

I just got my first ever "Nothing for you to see here. Please move along." Anyways... it would be interesting to see what happens with this. Taking it to the real life examples... many shops that sell pipes and other drug-use paraphernalia have many run-ins with the laws, and yet they are still in operation to this day, and the only time actual legal repercussions are brought to the managers of these stores is usually through another issue, that it technically unrelated to their shop. This should be the same issue. I would not be surprised if it is treated differently however.

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The problem is, the "drug paraphernalia" has many legitimate uses other then drug use too. It can be seen as selling drug paraphernalia or selling a tobacco pipe, or postal scales or whatever instead.

So the only ways to tell if the store owner is selling d

The obvious question....

How is anything this site did remotely "illegal"?

This sounds to me like it simply amounts to harassment by legal authorities, after having pressure put on them to "do something" by the movie and/or TV studios.

I know here in the United States, "search and seizure" is a popular law-enforcement tool for the purpose of slowing/stopping activities they can't really find sufficient evidence to prosecute. (All you need is a judge's signature saying it's ok to proceed with a search and seizure, and they can waltz in with the warrant in hand, seizing the "offending" property. Then just lock it away in an evidence locker for a few years, sitting on it and depriving the owner of it. Eventually, sure, they'll probably just return it, claiming "insufficient evidence" to make a case against them - but they accomplished what they were really after.)

Power Play

That is exactly what this is. A power play by big studios to make an example out of this guy. After nearly or completely bankrupting him, they will drop all the charges, and he will be off on his way. Anyone know what sort of SLAPP provisions the UK has?

Re:Power Play

Anyone know what sort of SLAPP provisions the UK has?

Doesn't matter, this wouldn't fall under it. Likewise if this had happened in the US. SLAPP laws apply to civil actions, this was a police action (according to the FA, police plus "officers from Gloucestershire County Council trading standards"). You might be able to make a case against them for some kind of wrongful prosecution, but SLAPP limitations won't apply.

Re:The obvious question....

In Spain, a judge has found that a similar site which holds links to films or music is not illegal, saying that they did not host any material and .

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/293205/0/enlaces/descargas/sharemule/ [20minutos.es]

(in Spanish, Babelfish may help if you don't speak it)

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Yes, you're are spot on. Evilcopyrightmafiascumspawn are the same all over the world.

Until recently we would have had to rely on the Register as the only UK-based organisation that would get it on this sort of thing; however we now have the Open Rights Gro [openrightsgroup.org]

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A genius named King_TJ wrote:

How is anything this site did remotely "illegal"?

The answers to all your questions can be found in the original article.

A 26-year-old man from Cheltenham was arrested on Thursday in connection with offences relating to the facilitation of copyright infringement on the internet, Fact said.

Please note this statement will be subject to legal challenge when the case comes to court. In the meantime, feel free to rant and rave about the big hand

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How is anything this site did remotely "illegal"?

It's hard to say; the article doesn't give enough detail. The relevant UK law is, I believe, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 [opsi.gov.uk].

I suppose if the site hosted torrents, that would fall unde

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It doesn't apply to the UK, but for an American context, the Grokster decision says that "one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infri

hmmm

Even though the site has not hosted any pirated content, it was a thorn in the side of movie and TV studios, thanks to having links to newest movies and TV shows.

Any bets on how long until ThePirateBay snaps up the domain name and re-opens the site?

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Not gonna happen. That'd essentially be advertising for the competition. As TPB is funded by advertisements on its torrent search pages, it doesn't want you watching video online, it wants you using its torrents.

HuH?!

Since when is it illegal to tell others where a certain thing (legal or illegal) is occurring? Is it then illegal to for me to link to his site? ...This is a dangerous slippery slope. While he maybe contributing to illegal activity, but so is modern technology in the production and distribution of illegal drugs - that doesn't make planes and needles illegal.

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Crap, I think the movie companies should be *glad* that Tv-links existed! it can help them to easly see where the materials are being distributed (stage6, tudou, etc, etc...) its like if some guy in a magazine shop has a front door list with addresses wher

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I think the movie companies should be *glad* that Tv-links existed! it can help them to easly see where the materials are being distributed

True enough... but when it comes to copyright infringement, it is so widespread that the companies cannot ever hope

Pointing to illegal content = conspiracy! (?!?)

Apparently you haven't visited the United States of Amerika lately.... It is illegal to give information to someone else knowing that they are going to use the information in committing a crime.

It falls under the "way" big, and "way" vague heading of "con

Re:HuH?!

well i reckon if i ran a business where people knocked on my door and asked me where to buy some cocaine, and i told them which address and what time to go to, and they gave me $1 for my time, then I'd be in a cell right away, despite not physically having any cocaine or selling it.
No doubt this site made money from ads, and to pretend the business model of the site was not designed around leeching money indirectly from copyrighted material is just naive.
People are always so keen to argue the finer points and wording of the law if it lets them carry on taking other peoples stuff for free, but when your house gets burgled, and the guy gets off with a technicality, are you equally anal about defining guilt?
It seems obvious to me that if you run a site that provides easy access to copyrighted content, you are breaking the law, especially if you do not remove that content when the copyright holder alerts you to it.

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> well i reckon if i ran a business where people knocked
>on my door and asked me where to buy some cocaine, and
>i told them which address and what time to go to, and
>they gave me $1 for my time, then I'd be in a cell right
>away, despite not

Re:HuH?!

I would have to respectfully dissent. You either break the law or you don't. Take Radar detector manufactureres. They manufacture and sell a product designed to assist breaking the law. We (and the companies of these detectors) can safely assume that most of the customers are or will be committing a crime, and will be assisted by the radar detector they are selling for a profit. Yet, these companies aren't being raided by the FBI. Why? Because it is not a crime to make a radar detector. It is a crime to speed on the high way. Not being able to distinguish between the 2 sets up a very dangerous slippery slope that I spoke about in my OP.

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especially if you do not remove that content when the copyright holder alerts you to it.

I thnk you're confusing things. The site doesn't own the content; it just links to it. There's no law that states site operators have to remove links when requested. Th

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"People are always so keen to argue the finer points and wording of the law if it lets them carry on taking other peoples stuff for free, but when your house gets burgled, and the guy gets off with a technicality, are you equally anal about defining guilt?

it was nice while it lasted

that's too bad. i ran across the site a while back and discovered there were episodes and, indeed, entire seasons of british television shows i was fond of but had never had the opportunity to see here in the states. after getting a chance to watch them, i tracked down the dvd sets (amazon.co.uk ftw) and bought them. this site was doing the industry a favor but, typically it seems, was viewed instead as some kind of threat. balls.

By their logic...

Google needs to be shut down for "facilitation of copyright infringement on the internet", or even "facilitation of terrorism on the internet".

Let me get this straight...

There is a web site that provides links to CRIMINALS, and the police pull down the web site? Why not leave the site up and use it to help track down the people actually creating and hosting the pirated content? Heck, I'm surprised the police were not operating the site themselves as a sting operation.

Whether piracy is Right or Wrong, it is presently against The Law, so this site could have been a useful tool for investigations.

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If I stuck up a website that told people where to score some crack, I'd be arrested too, even if I had never met a dealer personally. This guy linked to the content, and like it or not, in England the copyright enforcers are almost as anal as those in Amer

Coincidence

Coincidentally, I just tried to visit that site. It's of course down.

And then I went here to slashdot and saw this story.

But now I must be moving on again, in my travels across the intertubes.

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Make sure you come back sometime, and tell us some more about your travels.

Fascinating stuff really, almost as exciting and relevant to anything as this post.

Braaaains

Worse than the shut down of this excellent site, is the Grauniads zombie-like reproduction of the copyright-nazis statements. There is no suggestion that there might be two sides to this debate. There is nothing beyond 'this man is a criminal and the autho

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yeah,
Its another case where those making and enforcing the law don't have a clue about the technology in common use by modern society.
To be honest, I always thought the UK authorities were generally more in-touch on this than the US authorities, but it see