DHS Seizes 75+ Domain Names 529
Many readers have sent in an update to yesterday's story about the Department of Homeland Security's seizure of torrent-finder.com, a domain they believe to be involved in online piracy. As it turns out, this was just one of dozens of websites that were targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"In announcing that operation, John T. Morton, the assistant secretary of ICE, and representatives of the Motion Picture Association of America called it a long-term effort against online piracy, and said that suspected criminals would be pursued anywhere in the world. 'American business is under assault from counterfeiters and pirates every day, seven days a week,' Mr. Morton said. 'Criminals are stealing American ideas and products and distributing them over the Internet.'"
The TorrentFreak article we discussed yesterday has been updated with a list of the blocked sites.
DHT? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not from the Americas, but I thought the DHT only dealt with national security issues, terrorist threats, natural disasters, and other high priority issues that affected the country. I'm not quite seeing torrent-finder.com as that, a torrent site I haven't even visited despite being a pirate. Is this honestly the same organization behind providing supplies to Katrina victims, as protecting private businesses against business models in crisis?
insert subject here (Score:2, Interesting)
So, are there any alternative DNS servers that I can user that will still point to the non-seized addresses?
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:5, Interesting)
mod parent something like +trillion insightfull.
I for one fear of this, and am now forced to take .fi domain for our business and simply make our .com a forwarder. We operate torrent seedboxes, nothing illegal in them itself, but many users seem to use it for illegal purposes, as DMCA requests for our US servers is "quite frequent", despite we are not US business, using US provider forces us to follow DMCA for the servers in question. Operating within completely in the legal domain, doing everything legally, does seem to provide us little to no safety against the whims of US goverment.
Yes, our market is likely to be used for illegal purposes. So are the tools of locksmith or the common kitchen knife possibility to be used for bad. And what the article shows is one of those.
The business plan of MAFIAA is outdated, and should be updated, but whenever new technology comes around something like this happens, but this is the first time actual tangible efforts has happened afaik.
I'm sick of this, the world is crazy. What matters is what the average person thinks and does, and businesses as well as goverments SHOULD fear the population. It's the only way for humanity to get the most out of our lives, and the most progress.
You cannot stop progress. I sense a darknet to rise if this becomes too common.
Anyone know the domain registrars in question? Is it everything ICANN controls or specific domain registrars? That would show which registrars to avoid.
I'm also curious why they did not shut down piratebay etc. as well? what is the pattern on the sites closed? ie. what is the pattern by which they do the seizing.
Re:Government control (Score:4, Interesting)
The government wouldn't have anything to do with internet enforcement. It would only be tasked with preventing other companies from regulating traffic. Net neutrality, at least in the form proposed, wouldn't at all give the government the ability to do this sort of thing.
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:5, Interesting)
You don't get convicted/punished until proven guilty, that doesn't mean they don't shut down the operation when it's obvious they are actively selling fake goods right now. It is the courts job to decide what criminal charges may exist. Perhaps the shop owner didn't know they were fake? Just because the owner may not be the person criminally liable, that doesn't mean you allow the operation to continue.
It was obvious these sites were selling fake goods and distributing copyrighted works. They shut them down and the owner's get to plead their case about how they didn't know or whatever their case is. The site still gets shut down now if they are breaking laws now.
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:2, Interesting)
Torrents are the major backbone of the definition "cloud", or a distributed network of systems with full or partial files contained on them which can be pieced back together to form the whole.
This too is ironic, since "cloud" is the big hype currently surrounding the IT world. (Of course this is laughable, "Cloud computing" has been around for a long time)
Because Torrents are difficult to remove due to the distribution method, they target the tracking sites instead.
Re:DHT? (Score:2, Interesting)
Billions (Score:2, Interesting)
Dry Run for big thing: We have met the enemy (Score:3, Interesting)
Not to wear tinfoil but it sounds like a Law Enforcement dry run for bigger operations. .gov is "testing" to see how their methods are going to work in real life, if things will stick, how the public reaction to be.
When the horse bolts out of the barn, you better have to grab a pre-tested lasso before data gets to far out.
No one will admit how much data leakage happened since the late 90s with p2p flooding data out of .gov, R&D, and medical offices in the West.
You don't think the intel community never caught on? Lives and reputations are continuing to be be jeopardized with wikileaks... you think people are lying around for it to just happen to them?
Likely a lull as they regroup see how to improve things, then another round.
Politicians & Bureaucrats are not techies, but they tend to hire really smart companies and individuals for consulting and executing their work.
Similar methods which today were used to down some .mp3 or girlie picture site will be in the future be used to down leaked data out of Gov, IBM, Apple, Boeing, Dow Chemical, ....
As for US constitution, we have met the enemy and they is us. Peer Jury? I don't trust to be driving on the road with most of the people around me let alone have 12 decide my fate.
When certain crap is impelled through the fan certain plans are going to be set into motion. They were approved already by people voted upon and installed into power by peaceful means, and will "reflexively" activate. .gov goes out of control it is because of the citizens of the US, past and present actions, not because of anyone's future action.
If the US
Why was I groped at the airport? Someone who was elected or appointed by someone elected perceived a credible threat of real person(s) who can't be identified and "found." instituted a response to that. Whoever that person who wants other people to be hurt or die for whatever reason; will use whatever means and opportunity they have to do it. That is a situation of intractable security.
From a classical point of view; its means, motive and opportunity. US citizens can only react to means , increase/reduce opportunity and fuel or dowse the motivation for any kind of activity criminal or otherwise.
When was the last time anyone asked "why somebody needs a new 32-64GB for their videos, pics & songs?".. that's a whole lot of cash on top of the equipment -- I'm sure they could produce each cassette, cd, dvd or print magazine and the receipts proving they bought license it and they didn't DL it off somewhere for free.
We have met the enemy and they is us - greed, apathy, indifference, do it as long as nobody's hurt or if the "Big X" gets hurt even better. Enough of this kills a Constitutional democracy (big C little d)
Re:Yikes! Terrorists everywhere!!1! (Score:4, Interesting)
Except that this enforcement emphasis is biased in favor of protecting the rights of a collective (the MPAA/RIAA) at the expense of the individual. And this is worse than (theoretical) communism, where the collective represents the people.
The government is taxing me to protect the property rights of a small group. The least they could do is to levy a tax on intellectual property* and use that to fund enforcement. Instead of picking my pocket in the name of national security and diverting that revenue to someone else's benefit.
*Which raises the issue yet again of why, if IP is property just like my house, the gov't doesn't assess a tax on it.
I know... (Score:3, Interesting)
Where's Alan Shore when you need him?
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:3, Interesting)
The websites in these cases amount to a storefront to distribute fake goods or copyrighted materials. When this happens with physical storefronts, they get shut down. I don't really see how this is any different.
This isn't about free speech, no liberties were lost, this is about people breaking the law and reasonable steps are being taken to stop them. You shouldn't fear the government as a result of this. Take off your tinfoil hat.
So, a torrent search engine is now a storefront for distributing fake good or copyrighted materials?
You're smarter then you keep your mouth closed and finger far from the keyboard. Really.
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:3, Interesting)
The majority of the sites were selling knock-off physical goods - it's quite easy to make a distinction there. I only saw one site on the list that was piracy-related, torrent-finder.com, although it looks like a number of sites were selling DVDs of pirated material which you could make a valid argument about either way (I'd argue they're like counterfeits; those sites tend to target ignorant people looking for a deal, not slashdotters with a bittorrent client).
Unconstitutional? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Google next? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a matter of intent, something the law can and does take into consideration. Google et al. are shielded by the Betamax decision, because they're not promoting illegal uses. Incidental illegal uses (even if they constitute the majority of actual use) are not a problem, legally, but, as the Grokster case established, once you begin promoting the illegal uses, you've crossed the line.
I have no idea whether Torrent-finder did promote illegal uses, but that's the question this is likely to hinge on.
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:3, Interesting)
businesses as well as goverments SHOULD fear the population.
I just finished watching a video of stampeding bovines at Target, trampling a few people to get a small discount. After seeing something like this, I understand why government and business hold "the people" in such contempt.
I'm also fascinated at how the great revolutions of history actually managed to get started. Perhaps it was because of the lack of things to do in a world without electricity and telecommunications that would lead the people to grumble and unite far sooner. Now it's just bread and circuses, every day. The politicians that get elected are not the smartest people, but the best showmen. So long as people have their Miller lite, their big screen TV's with ESPN and reality shows, their porn, and every now and again they can pretend to vote, they will be happy.
The smart ones among us will just be left to despair - or turn to the dark side and run for public office.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:3, Interesting)
Creating an extra digital copy of something, as in pirating, does not impede anybody's access to the original.
Hijacking someone's domain does deprive the owner of access to the original, which certainly qualifies as "harm" in my book.
Re:One of Our Cancers (Score:4, Interesting)