# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169340
title: Reddit’s /r/Piracy Mods Get Tough on Reckless Pirates
uri: Reddit-s-r-Piracy-Mods-Get-Tough-on-Reckless-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Fr4RugEMqe8/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/af6fa99d.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png" alt="" class="wp-image-125451" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp-200x150.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></figure></div>



<p>As one of the most-visited sites on the entire Internet, Reddit needs little introduction.</p>



<p>The site has millions of daily visitors who read and contribute to countless discussions on every conceivable (and often inconceivable) topic.</p>



<p>In the piracy space, Reddit&#8217;s /r/piracy sub-Reddit is an invaluable source of information. It has close to 350,000 subscribers, making it one of the largest piracy-focused discussion platforms on the Internet. As such, many users feel the section is precariously placed.</p>



<p>As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/will-reddits-r-piracy-sub-reddit-get-shut-down-180826/">detailed</a> previously, this often controversial forum is regularly subject to conjecture about its future, with many worrying that it may be shut down for breaching Reddit&#8217;s global rules, mainly after receiving too many copyright complaints.</p>



<p>The truth, however, is that /r/piracy is run by pragmatic individuals who work extremely hard to ensure that their baby is run not only in compliance with the <g class="gr_ gr_41 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="41" data-gr-id="41">law,</g> but actually in excess of its requirements.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s important to know that /r/piracy is NOT the Wild West. It has a strict set of rules in place, including that people do not request or link to pirated or copyrighted content. Having this in place is important, since that&#8217;s what keeps the section in line with the law and out of trouble.</p>



<p>However, what&#8217;s most important is how the sub-Reddit deals with repeat offenders. Most ISPs and service providers now have such policies in place to keep the law from the door but most people won&#8217;t appreciate just how tough /r/piracy itself is now being policed.</p>



<p>In a recent discussion, moderator &#8216;dysgraphical&#8217; revealed that he now effectively operates a zero-tolerance policy, not only for people posting links to infringing content but also people who request the same.</p>



<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very proactive in temporarily banning <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7">first time</g> offenders of rule 3 [posting or requesting infringing content), and permanently banning any spam or intent to sell/distribute personal information. As long as the community keeps reporting <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="4" data-gr-id="4">rule breaking</g> posts, we&#8217;re fine,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/aykamu/our_collective_nightmare/ei1q99p/">wrote</a>.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s worth highlighting again. Most online platforms will tolerate three, four, or more <em>actual</em> infringements of copyright before taking firm action, while ISPs tend to err on the side of caution by only taking action against subscribers who&#8217;ve had multiple infringement allegations made against them.</p>



<p>While this may sound harsh to those who feel all content should be free (and they should have the freedom to both <g class="gr_ gr_45 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="45" data-gr-id="45">request</g> and obtain it), they aren&#8217;t running Reddit, they aren&#8217;t in charge of any sub-Reddits, or the ones that will suffer if a section is shut down for repeat infringements.</p>



<p>In addition, /r/piracy has automated tools in place that aim to catch people breaking the rules (which go beyond the requirements of the law) and the law itself. These so-called &#8216;<g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="4" data-gr-id="4">automoderators</g>&#8216; aim to catch infringing posts immediately while making the mods&#8217; life that little bit easier.</p>



<p>&#8220;Automod catches a ton of request posts and automatically deletes them <g class="gr_ gr_10 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="10" data-gr-id="10">everyday</g>. All together with <g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="9" data-gr-id="9">manual</g> mod and <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7">automod</g> removals, about ~25 posts are removed daily for breaking the rules,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_55 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="55" data-gr-id="55">dysgraphical</g> explains.</p>



<p>&#8220;The issue is that there will always be people attempting to circumvent the rules by oddly rewording their titles. For what it’s worth, they get the banhammer whenever I catch them.&#8221;</p>



<p>Again, this is worth repeating. Those who simply have no respect for the rules of /r/piracy not only face suspension for a first <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">offense,</g> but also face a permanent ban if they attempt to outwit the system that protect the sub-Reddit&#8217;s future.</p>



<p>TF has a system in place that&#8217;s able to monitor requests and other rule-breaking posts and capture copies of them before they are automatically deleted. It isn&#8217;t perfect, but we can confirm that /r/piracy and its mods (both human and machine) are very diligent.</p>



<p>To some, it may seem counter-intuitive for /r/piracy to be so tough on piracy itself, but the entire future of the discussion platform is reliant on strictly policing the platform. If those in charge loosened their grip, there&#8217;s little doubt that a minority of people who simply refuse to read the rules would be responsible for the forum being banned by Reddit.</p>



<p>However, it&#8217;s clear that since the opposite is true, the reality of the situation is much less precarious than some might assume.</p>



<p>&#8220;Contrary to the fearmongering that Redditors love contriving, we have never been contacted by the Admins for any copyright infringement or sitewide rule violation,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_35 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="35" data-gr-id="35">dysgraphical</g> adds.</p>



<p>&#8220;They have deleted a few posts here and there at their own discretion and have notified the OPs but we (mod team) have never received any complaints or notices for that matter.&#8221;</p>



<p>For a community of almost 350,000 subscribers that is some record (especially given the topic), and one the moderators of /r/piracy should be proud of. There are thousands of dedicated platforms to choose from if people want to engage in actual piracy but sacrificing /r/piracy to the gods would only serve to stifle entirely legal discussion.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169542
title: How an Anti-Piracy Crusading Movie Studio is Keeping Piracy ‘Alive’
uri: 2019-03-17-
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/OnYnykbvgJQ/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169567" src="media/85956076.legopirates.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/legopirates.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="227">Australian entertainment company <a href="http://villageroadshow.com.au/">Village Roadshow</a> has been on the anti-piracy frontlines for several years.</p>
<p>Where most Hollywood studios hide behind the MPAA,&nbsp;Village Roadshow, and its CEO Graham Burke in particular, have lashed out against pirates and their facilitators on numerous occasions.</p>
<p>The company has repeatedly lobbied for tougher copyright legislation down under, for example. And it&#8217;s one of the driving forces behind the recent wave of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-prepare-new-big-time-wave-of-aussie-site-blocks-170112/">blocking orders</a> against Australian ISPs.</p>
<p>As CEO,&nbsp; Burke is known for his frontal attacks on Google, accusing the search engine of&nbsp; &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-on-collision-course-with-movie-biz-over-piracy-safe-harbor-180219/">facilitating crime</a>&#8221; and using &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-criticizes-aussie-site-blocking-plan-village-roadshow-attacks-google-181121/">stolen movies</a>&#8221; to lure visitors. Pirate site operators are no better off, as they were compared to heroin dealers by the outspoken movie boss.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“We are sending our kids to very dangerous online neighborhoods — the pirates are not good guys,” Burke <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-operators-like-heroin-dealers-movie-boss-says-161010/">said previously</a>. “These aren’t roguish, basement-dwelling computer geeks — these are the same type of people that sell heroin.”</p>
<p>This &#8216;passion&#8217; is understandable for a man who&#8217;s been linked to the company for <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/village-roadshows-graham-burke-to-stand-down-at-end-of-year-566692">more than 60 years</a>. It&#8217;s his life&#8217;s work, to a certain degree, and the sight of people sharing &#8216;his&#8217; movies without paying is clearly something that frustrates and angers Burke.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Even some of the most hardcore pirates may be able to sympathize with this stance but while Burke condemns pirates, site owners, search engines, ISPs, and various other players, the role of his own company shouldn&#8217;t be ignored.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Research has shown time and again that, when people can&#8217;t see a movie or TV-show legally, they turn to illegal sources. Just last month a New Zealand study found that people don&#8217;t want to break the law, pointing out that &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-is-driven-by-availability-price-isp-says-190226/">availability</a>&#8221; of legal content is a crucial factor.</p>
<p>Even Burke himself realized this years ago. In 2014 his company released The LEGO Movie weeks after it premiered in other countries because it wanted to premiere the film close to the holiday season. That decision backfired badly.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a disaster,&#8221; <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/village-boss-made-hell-mistake-lego-movie-isps-content-providers-struggle-find-common-ground-250603">Burke later said</a> at a Government initiated panel discussion about copyright issues. The CEO admitted that the company&#8217;s decision facilitated piracy, and he promised to not significantly delay future releases.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“It caused it to be pirated very widely. As a consequence – no more – our policy going forward is that all our movies will be released within the time and date of the United States,” Burke added.</p>
<p>The humbling comments suggested that Village&nbsp;Roadshow had learned from its mistake.</p>
<p>However, two years later, when the&nbsp;LEGO: Batman movie came out, Burke&#8217;s wise words rang hollow. Again, Australians had to wait more than six weeks longer than people in the US and other countries. Needless to say, Australians <a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/oz-is-getting-the-lego-batman-movie-48-goddamn-days-after-everyone-else/">were not happy</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Perhaps Burke forgot about his earlier statements. Surely, when The LEGO Movie 2 was released, things would go better, not least due to the film, like the first one, being created partly in Australia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That was idle hope.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The LEGO Movie 2 premiered in the US and various other countries early February, but in Australia, it has yet to appear in theaters.&nbsp;The official release date is set for March 21, again more than six weeks after the US release.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Burke previously admitted that such a delay was &#8220;a disaster&#8221; which&nbsp;causes movies to be &#8220;pirated very widely,&#8221; so it&#8217;s a mystery why this scenario keeps repeating itself.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This week the situation got even worse for the company as a high-quality release of The LEGO Movie 2 appeared on pirate sites. This pirated copy doesn&#8217;t come with any artificial delays or restriction for Australians.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/28fcdab2.legotorrent.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/legotorrent.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-169573" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/legotorrent.jpg 600w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/legotorrent-220x130.jpg 220w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption>LEGO Movie 2</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Let it be clear that a release delay doesn&#8217;t entitle anyone to pirate a film. Village Roadshow is the rightsholder and it&#8217;s entirely up to them when they want a film to premiere.</p>
<p>That said, delays certainly don&#8217;t help to keep people away from pirate sites. Burke himself previously admitted that holding back a movie release can lead to more piracy.</p>
<p>Availability is an important determinant for piracy, after all.</p>
<p>However, Village Roadshow apparently believes that their release schedule&nbsp;will increase revenue. The March 21 date is closer to the Australian holidays, which is likely the main reason.</p>
<p>But, if Village Roadshow demands far-reaching anti-piracy measures from lawmakers, while asking Google to do everything in its power to stop pirates, shouldn&#8217;t we expect the same from Village Roadshow?&nbsp;Right now, they&#8217;re keeping piracy &#8216;alive.&#8217;</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169647
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 03/18/19
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-03-18-19
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/JUEcwkqvq0k/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169105" src="media/f775cc6a.aquaman.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aquaman.png" alt="" width="300" height="215">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Aquaman is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a>&nbsp;for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-on-bittorrent-03-11-19/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">Aquaman</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmqJJqFX_CU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(10)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/">The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgUW88D15w">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">8.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/">Mary Poppins Returns</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgUW88D15w">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488606/">Triple Frontier</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488606/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3yRLLrXQA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/">Captain Marvel</a> (HDCam)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1BCujX3pw8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255919/">Holmes and Watson</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255919/">3.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brjkpRBpFnc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/">Vice</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/">7.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSGFt6w0wok">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3385524/">Stan and Ollie</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3385524/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2zdFwgUYBg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169634
title: Reddit Admins Issue Formal Warning to /r/piracy, Totally Out of the Blue
uri: Reddit-Admins-Issue-Formal-Warning-to-r-piracy-Totally-Out-of-the-Bl
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/LbJ8iKg5yWw/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/af6fa99d.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png" alt="" class="wp-image-125451" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp-200x150.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></figure></div>



<p>On March 17, 2019, TorrentFreak <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/reddits-r-piracy-mods-get-tough-on-reckless-pirates-190317/">published an article</a> about Reddit&#8217;s /r/piracy discussion forum.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_97 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="97" data-gr-id="97">It</g> was actually prepared six days earlier, a point of importance that will become clear later on.</p>



<p>We noted how some in the thriving community of around 350,000 subscribers were concerned that it could be shut down for talking about piracy. In general, we highlighted what should be apparent &#8211; discussing piracy is a whole different animal than actually engaging in it.</p>



<p>Perhaps even more importantly, we reported on statements issued earlier this month by a key moderator of /r/piracy. The person in question, &#8216;dysgraphical&#8217;, reported that the section effectively has a zero-tolerance stance against infringement.</p>



<p>Not only do posters of any offending links to <em>allegedly</em> infringing content face an immediate suspension, but also anyone who even asks for them. This, quite clearly, goes way beyond the requirements of the DMCA. </p>



<p>Furthermore, /r/piracy &#8211; just like any other service provider &#8211; lists rules (effectively Terms of Service) that expressly forbid any kind of copyright infringement. Any posts breaking these rules are deleted, either with automated tools or manual intervention.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s a classic situation of technology and humans policing a platform as the law requires, but exceeding its requirements. Indeed, anyone looking for actual links to pirated content will find /r/piracy one of the least useful resources on the Internet, thanks to the work of the mods and the 99.9% of users who respect the rules.</p>



<p>Yesterday, however, not long after our piece was published, the moderators of /r/piracy made it known that they had just received a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/b28d9q/rpiracy_has_received_a_notice_of_multiple/">formal notice</a> from Reddit Legal, dated March 14, regarding copyright infringement. While that pre-dated our article&#8217;s publication date, the complaint was sent after it was drafted.</p>



<p>&#8220;This is an official warning from Reddit that we are receiving too many copyright infringement notices about material posted to your community. We will be required to ban this community if you can&#8217;t adequately address the problem,&#8221; the notice reads. </p>



<p>&#8220;Over the past <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">months</g> we&#8217;ve had to remove material from the community in response to copyright notices 74 times. That&#8217;s an unusually high number taking into account the community&#8217;s size.&#8221;</p>



<p>This communication from Reddit Legal came as a complete surprise. The moderators of /r/piracy have never had any contact with the admins on this topic previously, as dysgraphical explains.</p>



<p>&#8220;Reddit Legal states that they have acted 74 times on these copyright notices through removals, but it is the first time we have been officially contacted regarding any infringement where it <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">be</g> through <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="4" data-gr-id="4">modmail</g> or PMs.&#8221;</p>



<p>This claim deserves some analysis. Firstly, &#8220;past months&#8221; is pretty vague (Reddit Legal hasn&#8217;t responded to a request for more information) so given that the claim is 74, let&#8217;s make the assumption that it&#8217;s three <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">months,</g> or 90 days.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s less than one infringement notice per day. If it&#8217;s six months, it&#8217;s just three every week. The Pirate Bay this certainly isn&#8217;t.</p>



<p>The sub-Reddit has 350,000 subscribers but anyone on Reddit (getting close to a quarter of a billion unique monthly users) can post on /r/piracy. Less than one infringement notice per day doesn&#8217;t seem like a lot (Google just processed its <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightholders-have-asked-google-to-remove-4-billion-pirate-links-190316/">four-billionth</a>) but even that needs to be viewed while considering something of even more importance.</p>



<p>FACT: These are not notices of <em>actual</em> infringement being received by Reddit, but <em>claimed</em> notices of infringement.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_187 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="187" data-gr-id="187">We</g> know from our own experience that Google has received many copyright infringement complaints against TorrentFreak.com (<a href="https://transparencyreport.google.com/copyright/domains/torrentfreak.com?hl=en">see here</a>) but every single one is false. Indeed, one of the companies who filed these notices actually apologized to us recently for their errors. But then, of course, it&#8217;s too late, and the damage has been done.</p>



<p>&#8220;Considering our stringent rules against distributing pirated content through this platform, it is unclear what constitutes&nbsp;<em>copyright infringement</em>&nbsp;to Reddit or whether the simple mention of a release name falls under their broad interpretation,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_12 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="12" data-gr-id="12">dysgraphical</g> notes.</p>



<p>This is an extremely good point<g class="gr_ gr_235 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="235" data-gr-id="235">.</g></p>



<p>Earlier this year we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/reporting-when-pirate-releases-hit-the-internet-is-apparently-illegal-now-190101/">reported</a> on several sites that report on the mere availability of pirate releases yet are systematically reported to Google for infringement, despite committing no infringement. Reddit&#8217;s /r/piracy sub allows release names (as is its right) to be published for discussion, so are these being flagged by over-enthusiastic copyright bots?</p>



<p>We truth is, we don&#8217;t know and neither do /r/piracy&#8217;s moderators, because Reddit doesn&#8217;t make the notices available to them. All the legal team would reveal is that the latest claim came from Warner Bros, which is hardly the basis for a meaningful investigation.</p>



<p>&#8220;We replied immediately requesting a list of offending material that was removed and have not received a reply yet,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="3" data-gr-id="3">dysgraphical</g> explains.</p>



<p>While Reddit does publish a token &#8220;<a href="https://www.redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report-2018#text-content2">transparency report</a>&#8220;, unlike other &#8216;rivals for eyeballs&#8217; such as Google, Twitter, etc, it does not publish received notices. As such, there is no real transparency as to what is going on here. </p>



<p>That only adds fuel to a particular theory &#8211; that Reddit is actively trying to get rid of sub-Reddits that are unpalatable to its sponsors or those that are out of line with its corporate aims.</p>



<p>&#8220;It has become abundantly clear in the past months and years that Reddit has never been the bastion of freedom that many people see it as,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_27 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="27" data-gr-id="27">dysgraphical</g> writes.</p>



<p>&#8220;Reddit&#8217;s passivity in enforcing its own rules is continuously tested whenever one of its subreddits are <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">thrusted</g> into the limelight by the media. As we wait for more information from Reddit Legal, there is one certainty that comes from all of this, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy">r/Piracy</a>&nbsp;will be banned.&#8221;</p>



<p>While there&#8217;s hope that this doomsday scenario can be avoided, it&#8217;s almost impossible to play by the rules when the state of play isn&#8217;t transparent. Reddit itself executed <a href="https://www.redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report-2018#text-content2">26,234 content removals in 2018</a> due to copyright but no one is suggesting that Reddit&#8217;s host should ban Reddit.</p>



<p>Why? Because when it&#8217;s informed of the existence of allegedly infringing content Reddit removes it, as the law dictates. Reddit&#8217;s /r/piracy goes <em>beyond</em> those requirements.</p>



<p>It removes any infringing content not only <em>pro-actively</em> <em>in advance of receiving any complaints</em> but also removes it faster than Reddit itself. We&#8217;re not talking a couple of hours here, we&#8217;re talking minutes or even seconds.</p>



<p>The mods on /r/piracy will clearly be having some discussions about how to save their community in the face of this out-of-the-blue warning but in the short-term, it&#8217;s clear they&#8217;ll be held to a higher standard than almost any other sub-Reddit around &#8211; even the dozens of image-based sub-Reddits that breach photographers&#8217; copyrights every minute of every day.</p>



<p>That will probably have to mean immediate bans (not just suspensions) of rule breakers while making this fact known in the sidebar, and doing what they&#8217;ve always done really effectively &#8211; take out the trash. Unfortunately, there&#8217;s clearly a feeling that no matter what gets done, it won&#8217;t make any difference.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, Reddit should consider giving the moderators the information they have requested. That will go some way to restoring trust that this isn&#8217;t a witchhunt but is a genuine complaint in need of attention and/or rectification.</p>



<p></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169638
title: ISP Grande Loses Safe Harbor Over ‘Utter Failure’ to Terminate Pirating Customers
uri: ISP-Grande-Loses-Safe-Harbor-Over-Utter-Failure-to-Terminate-Pir
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uHCr5nPCCi0/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135510" src="media/a585da8e.piratemusiccasset.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/piratemusiccasset.png" alt="" width="234" height="152"></p>
<p>Regular Internet providers are being put under increasing pressure for not doing enough to curb copyright infringement.</p>
<p>Music rights company BMG got the ball rolling a few years ago <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">when it won</a> its piracy liability lawsuit against Cox.</p>
<p>Following on the heels of this case, several major record labels including&nbsp;Capitol Records, Warner Bros, and Sony Music,&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-sues-isp-grande-communications-for-failing-to-disconnect-pirates-170422/">filed a lawsuit</a> in a Texas District Court. Helped by the RIAA, they sued ISP Grande Communications for allegedly turning a blind eye to its pirating subscribers.</p>
<p>The labels argued that the Internet provider knew that some of its subscribers were frequently distributing copyrighted material, but failed to take any meaningful action in response. For example, it didn&#8217;t have a proper policy in place to deal with persistent pirates.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In order to enjoy safe harbor protection, the DMCA requires ISPs to adopt and reasonably implement a policy for terminating the accounts of repeat copyright infringers. According to the labels, it is clear that Grande failed to do so.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Last year, the record labels moved for summary judgment on this safe harbor protection defense, ahead of the trial. This is a crucial issue, as the ISP can be held directly liable without a safe harbor defense.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A few days ago,&nbsp; Senior US District Court Judge David Ezra ruled on the request, siding with the record labels. The decision follows the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/judge-recommends-dropping-isp-grandes-dmca-safe-harbor-defense-181219/">report and recommendations</a> from&nbsp;US Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin, but Judge Ezra conducted a fresh review of several contested issues.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Judge Ezra, it is clear that Grande Communications is not entitled to a safe harbor defense. The evidence, including comments from the ISP&#8217;s own employees, clearly shows that it hasn&#8217;t adopted and reasonably implemented a repeat infringer policy.</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;In this case, the evidence is clear that from at least 2011 until 2016 Grande had no internal policy or procedures whatsoever to enforce their forward-facing statement that they would terminate customers for repeat infringements,&#8221; the order reads.</span></p>
<p>Grande terminated subscribers before October 2010 but stopped doing so for the six-and-a-half year period that followed.&nbsp; The ISP argued that it had a<span class="fontstyle0">&nbsp;public-facing policy under which it could take action, but this wasn&#8217;t actively enforced, evidence shows.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;In internal emails, one Grande employee even stated that &#8216;we have users who are racking up DMCA take down requests and no process for remedy in place&#8217;,&#8221; the order reads.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Moreover, to be eligible for the DMCA safe harbor, an ISP must &#8216;reasonably implement&#8217; a termination policy, not just adopt one,&#8221; Judge Ezra adds.</span></p>
<p>Grande didn&#8217;t terminate any subscribers between<span class="fontstyle0">&nbsp;October 2010 and May 2017. This, despite&nbsp;receiving over a million copyright infringement notices, and tracking over 9,000 customers in its DMCA “Excessive Violations Report.”</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">The court states that this &#8220;utter failure to terminate any customers at all over a six-and-a-half-year period,&#8221;&nbsp;shows that the ISP made every effort to &#8220;avoid reasonably implementing&#8221; a repeat infringer policy.</span></p>
<p>Terminations eventually started again in 2017, two months after this lawsuit was filed.&nbsp;</p>
<p></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/4304c96d.utterfailure.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/utterfailure.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169661"/><figcaption>Utter failure</figcaption></figure>


<p>The record labels made several comparisons between Grande and the ISP Cox Communications, which also lost its safe harbor defense in a similar case. Grande contested that this argument doesn&#8217;t hold, as Cox actually failed to enforce its specific policy.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, Judge Ezra counters that Cox&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">at least had internal procedures that in theory could lead to the termination of a customer. Grande failed to implement a proper policy to begin with.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Grande thus did even less than Cox to &#8216;reasonably implement&#8217; the kind of policy required for the protections of DMCA’s safe harbor,&#8221; Judge Ezra writes.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;If lax enforcement and frequent circumvention of existent procedures disqualifies a defendant from the safe harbor’s protections, the complete nonexistence of such procedures surely must do likewise,&#8221; the order adds.</span></p>
<p>In its defense, the ISP also raised serious concerns about the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-wants-trial-to-decide-if-it-failed-to-terminate-repeat-infringers-190113/">reliability of Rightscorp’s piracy notices</a>. Grande said that there are&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">critical flaws in the Rightscorp system based. As such, terminating the Internet access of&nbsp;</span><span class="fontstyle2">any&nbsp;</span><span class="fontstyle0">subscriber based on this info may not have been right.</span></p>
<p>Judge Ezra waved away this argument as well, highlighting that there were hundreds of thousands of notices from other companies, which the company didn&#8217;t act on either.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Even if the Court were to accept Grande’s arguments related to the Rightscorp notices, the summary judgment evidence shows that Grande failed to terminate a single customer despite the receipt of several hundred thousand other copyright infringement notices,&#8221; Judge Ezra writes.</span></p>
<p>The result is that the court has adopted the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/judge-recommends-dropping-isp-grandes-dmca-safe-harbor-defense-181219/">recommendations</a> from the Magistrate Judge, granting&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">summary judgment in favor of the record labels. As a result, Grande will go to trial without a safe harbor defense. This means that it can be held directly liable for the pirating activity of its users.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>This is a major setback, and there is more bad news for the ISP.</p>
<p>Grande requested summary judgment in its favor on a variety of liability issues, including direct infringement, willfulness, damages, and ownership of copyright. These were all denied, as recommended, except for two limited issues regarding the alleged violation of reproduction or public performance rights.</p>
<p>The RIAA labels also submitted a cross-motion on these liability issues, requesting a ruling in their favor, but that was denied as well. This means that those matters will be decided at trial.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of Judge Ezra&#8217;s order adopting the report and recommendations is available <a href="media/1cd82440.grandeadopt.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/grandeadopt.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169687
title: Four Men Sentenced For Running Torrent Site That Leaked The Expendables 3
uri: Four-Men-Sentenced-For-Running-Torrent-Site-That-Leaked-The-Expendable
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XI6WOqUnL-E/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/18f89078.expendables3.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/expendables3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-91541" width="185" height="248"/></figure></div>



<p>Running a torrent site anywhere in the Western world was once an extremely risky endeavor, with prosecutions regularly hitting the headlines.</p>



<p>These days there appears to be less law enforcement and civil action than there once was but for four men in the UK, their actions several years ago have now caught up with them.</p>



<p>Steven Pegram, 40, Mark Rollin, 37, Paul Taylor, 54, and Alan Stephenson, 42, were part of a group which uploaded movies to their relatively low-profile torrent site, TheFoundry.name. Importantly they also made movies available before their theatrical release, notably The Expendables 3.</p>



<p>The movie leaked in so-called &#8216;DVD Screener&#8217; format <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/expendables-3-leaks-online-100k-copies-down-in-hours-140725/">during July 2014</a> and was downloaded millions of times before its official release August 15, 2014.</p>



<p>In November that same year, the UK&#8217;s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit revealed that <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-police-arrest-two-for-the-expendables-3-movie-leak-141125/">two arrests had been made</a> in connection with the leak. The men were aged 33 and 36, the same ages as Pegram and Stephenson would&#8217;ve been at the time of the arrests. </p>



<p>Information now provided by the UK&#8217;s Crown Prosecution Service states that Pegram, Rollin, Taylor <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">and</g> Stephenson shared the movie on their platform, causing producer Lionsgate Films an estimated £1.5 million ($2 million) in losses.</p>



<p>Other movies made available on the site affected members of the MPAA, including Sony, Disney, Fox <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="7" data-gr-id="7">and</g> Warner Brothers. Their losses were calculated at £7 million ($9.26 million), with Godzilla and X-Men: Days of Future Past accounting for almost £4 million ($5.29 million) of that total.</p>



<p>According to the prosecution, Pegram owned the site and along with Taylor, paid for its servers. Both men uploaded content to the platform.</p>



<p>Rollin acted as an encoder and uploader and was found to have 47 &#8220;high quality&#8221; movies on his computer, including the titles Are You Here and Third Person, in advance of their theatrical releases.  Stephenson was responsible for setting up and maintaining the torrent site.</p>



<p>Rollin and Stephenson earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the copyright owners. At the first day of their trial on December 3, 2018, Pelgram and Taylor pleaded guilty to the same charge.</p>



<p>The quartet were all sentenced yesterday, with Pegram receiving a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years and Rollin a sentence of three years. Taylor and Stephenson were each sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for 24 months.</p>



<p>&#8220;These defendants set up and ran a site which allowed users to download films for free via BitTorrent, including the Expendables 3 before its release in the cinema,&#8221; said Leigh Webber, a Specialist Prosecutor in the Specialist Fraud Division at the Crown Prosecution Service.</p>



<p>&#8220;All of them had <g class="gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="6" data-gr-id="6">clear</g> knowledge of what the site was used for and <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7">were</g> well aware they were breaching the copyright of the production companies.&#8221;</p>



<p>The saga surrounding the leak of The Expendables 3 has now been running for almost five years, with several individuals, groups, and platforms being held responsible for its distribution.</p>



<p>In August 2014, file-hosting site Hulkfile <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hulkfile-shuts-down-following-expendables-3-lawsuit-140813/">threw in the towel</a> in the US after being targeted by Lionsgate after a user stored the movie on its servers. Almost a year later, <g class="gr_ gr_71 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="71" data-gr-id="71">file-hosting</g> site Played.to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/played-to-operator-admits-guilt-in-expendables-3-leak-150626/">reached a settlement</a> with the movie company after users streamed the movie illegally.</p>



<p>In March 2016, United States District Judge Otis Wright granted a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-sites-ordered-to-pay-450000-for-expendables-3-leak-160328/">default judgment</a> which ordered Muhammed Ashraf (LimeTorrents), Tom Messchendorp (Dotsemper), and Lucas Lim (<g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="3" data-gr-id="3">Swankshare</g>) to pay the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 each, again for offering The Expendables 3.</p>



<p>Then l<g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">ast</g> December, a federal grand jury in California indicted five men for allegedly offering pre-release copies of hundreds of movies and TV shows via the Internet, The Expendables 3 included.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/doj-indicts-five-men-for-pre-release-movie-tv-show-piracy-181213/">indictment</a> revealed that at least one of the men stands accused of accessing the California-based servers of a content-management services company which was used to store and distribute motion picture assets.</p>



<p>In 2013, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) informed TorrentFreak that The Expendables 3 had been &#8220;stolen&#8221; from a &#8220;cloud-based system&#8221;, something which supports the information released in the indictment.</p>



<p>The unit later revealed they&#8217;d arrested a then 26-year-old man in the UK during April 2015 under suspicion of leaking The Expendables 3.</p>



<p>While it is still to be officially confirmed if it is indeed the same person, Malik Luqman Farooq (placed at 30-years-old in December&#8217;s indictment and said to be resident in the UK), is mentioned prominently by the Department of Justice in the US.</p>



<p>The indictment claims the unreleased copy of The Expendables 3 was obtained from a content-management services company and downloaded via TOR. The copy was then stored on an OVH server with Farooq later selling it to an undercover anti-piracy investigator working for the MPAA.</p>



<p> </p>



<p></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169703
title: YouTuber “Golden Modz” Settles Lawsuit Over Fortnite Cheats
uri: YouTuber-Golden-Modz-Settles-Lawsuit-Over-Fortnite-Cheats
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9JMp4kuUNf8/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169704" src="media/84dc79b2.goldenmodz1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/goldenmodz1.png" alt="" width="277" height="177"></p>
<p>With more than 1.8 million subscribers, &#8216;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyO8gWYTfAzDuUvwouj08Q/videos">Golden Modz</a>&#8216; ranks among the more popular game YouTubers.</p>
<p>The channel is linked to Florida&nbsp;resident Brandon Lucas, who uses it to share gameplay videos which regularly feature cheats and hacks.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Game publishers&nbsp;are not always happy to see this type of activity. When Golden Modz uploaded several Fortnite cheat&nbsp;videos last summer, Fortnite creator Epic Games took action.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Initially, the company just sent takedown notices to YouTube. However, when these were appealed by the channel operator, the game company saw no other option than to go to court.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the complaint, filed at a North Carolina Federal Court, Epic Games <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/epic-games-sues-youtuber-golden-modz-over-magical-fortnite-powers-181012/">accused</a> Brandon Lucas a.k.a. Golden Modz of copyright infringement. The lawsuit also named fellow&nbsp;YouTuber Colton Conter, a.k.a. ‘Exentric’, as a second defendant.</p>
<p>&#8220;Exentric&#8221; made occasional appearances in the videos that were posted on the YouTube channel. In the videos, the two referred to their cheats as &#8220;magical powers,&#8221; informing viewers where to buy these, while hosting giveaways as well.</p>
<p>Initially, Lucas denied that the videos posted on the channel were his. In an unsworn affidavit, he said that no videos using cheats were posted by him, nor did he own the websites where the cheats were sold. As such, he filed a request&nbsp;with the court to dismiss the case.</p>
<p></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/b90bdadd.lastnovaffi.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/lastnovaffi.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169712"/><figcaption>Affidavit from last November</figcaption></figure>


<p>Epic Games wasn&#8217;t convinced of Lucas&#8217; innocence. The company filed a response to the motion to dismiss stating that, among other&nbsp;things, Lucas previously stated that the videos and channel were his. These claims were made in response to an earlier YouTube takedown request.&nbsp;</p>
<p></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/6452625b.epicresponse.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/epicresponse.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169714"/><figcaption>Epic Games&#8217; response</figcaption></figure>


<p>The court sided with Epic Games and denied the motion to dismiss the case. This prompted both parties to get together to see if the case could be resolved without going to trial.&nbsp;Fast forward four months, and Lucas and Epic Games have now agreed on a settlement and a permanent injunction.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A stipulated order filed at the North Carolina District Court, signed by both parties, clarifies that Lucas did use cheating software in his videos, which he profited from.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Lucas publicly displayed the use of cheat software (&#8216;cheats&#8217;&nbsp;</span><span class="fontstyle0">or &#8216;</span><span class="fontstyle0">hacks&#8217;) to&nbsp; third parties for personal gain via his YouTube channel, &#8216;Golden Modz&#8217;, by playing <span class="fontstyle2">in&nbsp;</span>squads with players who were using cheats while playing Fortnite in at least nine videos posted on his YouTube channel.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Lucas infringed Epic&#8217;s copyrights in Fortnite by creating and publicly<br>displaying unauthorized derivative works of&nbsp;</span><span class="fontstyle0">Epic&#8217;s </span><span class="fontstyle0">copyright protected Fortnite code in videos of himself and/or others on Lucas&#8217; YouTube channel,&#8221;&nbsp; the stipulated order reads.</span></p>
<p>Both Lucas and Epic Games agree&nbsp;that the&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">violations of the Copyright Act caused great and irreparable harm to Epic which can&#8217;t be&nbsp;fully compensated or measured in money.</span></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/8b851b56.stipinj.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/stipinj.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169719"/><figcaption>From the stipulated injunction</figcaption></figure>


<p>Despite this claim, there is no damages or settlement amount mentioned in the paperwork. It is possible that Lucas agreed to compensate&nbsp;Epic Games outside of court, but the details of the settlement are not public.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The stipulated permanent&nbsp;injunction is published in full. This prevents Lucas from engaging in any infringing activity of Epic Games works in the future. In addition, he is not allowed to develop, promote, or link to, any cheating tools for Epic&#8217;s games.</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">The operator of the Golden Modz waived his right to appeal and faces $5,000 in damages in the event that any terms of the agreed injunction are violated.</span></p>
<p>The co-defendant in this case,&nbsp;Colton Conter, also agreed to a similar settlement and injunction earlier this year.</p>
<p>Injunction or not, the popular&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">Golden Modz channel remains online. It still features several &#8216;cheat&#8217; related videos.&nbsp;</span></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/17e9ae35.gm19.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/gm19.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-169706"/><figcaption>Golden Modz channel now</figcaption></figure>


<p><span class="fontstyle0">Golden Modz wisely refrained from posting any videos with Fortnite cheats, but the same can&#8217;t be said for GTA V.</span></p>
<p>&#8220;USING AIMBOT in GTA Online to make kids rage on the mic! 5,000 likes for part 2!!! Buy Modded accounts and GTA 5 services here &#8211; <a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" spellcheck="false" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=1FkR379GrAcrVB21IdVJaaEqrL98MTU1MzA4OTk5M0AxNTUzMDAzNTkz&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fgatorcheats.com%2F&amp;event=video_description&amp;v=kivlueOehAQ" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://gatorcheats.com/</a>,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kivlueOehAQ">description</a> of a recent video reads.</p>
<p>While the injunction doesn&#8217;t prevent Lucas from using GTA V cheats, these videos are not without risk either. GTA V&#8217;s Take-Two Interactive has also filed several lawsuits against alleged cheaters.</p>
<p>In fact, the company just filed a new case against several John Doe defendants who are believed to be involved with&nbsp;the cheating and &#8216;griefing&#8217; software <a href="https://evolve.black/">Evolve</a>. As such, the company may not be happy with Golden Modz activities either.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the stipulated order and permanent injunction is <a href="media/e75eaa72.lucassettle.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/lucassettle.pdf">available here (pdf)</a>. While it&#8217;s agreed on by both parties, the US District Court Judge has yet to sign it. That&#8217;s usually just a formality.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169758
title: Privacy-Focused Search Engine Wants Copyright Directive to Pass
uri: Privacy-Focused-Search-Engine-Wants-Copyright-Directive-to-Pass
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0bksiqwzD-Q/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/6d180a59.image.jpeg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-169759" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/image.jpeg 259w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/image-200x150.jpeg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px"></figure></div>



<p>Launched in 2013, French-based search engine <a href="https://www.qwant.com/">Qwant</a> markets itself as a privacy-friendly service.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="9" data-gr-id="9">Currently</g> one of the top 50 most-visited sites in France, the service claims not track its users, unlike competitors such as Google<g class="gr_ gr_46 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="46" data-gr-id="46">.</g></p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_46 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="46" data-gr-id="46">It</g> also differs from the world&#8217;s leading search engine in other ways too, most notably in its support of one of Europe&#8217;s most controversial legislative proposals in recent times. </p>



<p>In an interview published in French publication Les Echos <em>(<a href="https://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/medias/0600930720982-qwant-va-remunerer-les-editeurs-de-presse-pour-lindexation-de-leurs-articles-dit-son-patron-2253671.php">paywall</a>)</em>, Qwant founder and boss Éric <g class="gr_ gr_81 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="81" data-gr-id="81">Leandri</g> says his company is actually in favor of the EU&#8217;s Copyright Directive passing next week.</p>



<p>On Article 11 (which opponents refer to as the &#8216;link tax&#8217;), <g class="gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="33" data-gr-id="33">Leandri</g> told the publication that the current text is &#8220;the only chance&#8221; for press publishers to receive remuneration from US giants, including Google, who use such content without paying publishers &#8220;a cent&#8221;.</p>



<p>On <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/?s=article+13">Article 13</a> (&#8216;censorship machines&#8217; / &#8216;upload filters&#8217;), <g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="9" data-gr-id="9">Leandri</g> acknowledges that the text &#8220;is not perfect&#8221; but still wants it to pass, since he believes there is a way to make it compatible with the values of an open Internet.</p>



<p>&#8220;We consider, that besides the editors of press and journalists, the world of culture and creation must be justly paid,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="9" data-gr-id="9">Leandri</g> says.</p>



<p>&#8220;But this article scares the advocates of a free Internet, which we are, because it requires all platforms, except the very small, to identify protected content that would be indexed illegally, which they have always refused so far, believing that it is unmanageable.&#8221;</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">Leandri</g> also highlights problems with not only the expense of creating a system similar to YouTube&#8217;s Content <g class="gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="8" data-gr-id="8">ID,</g> but also the fear that smaller platforms will be driven to companies like Google and Facebook for their filtering solutions. This would allow the giants to collect even more data on Internet users and monitor the business activities of rivals.</p>



<p>So why the surprising support for the Copyright Directive?</p>



<p>&#8220;The modalities of application of this article are to be discussed and transposed in each country. We propose, at this stage, to condition the directive with the setting up of a free and open public platform in which the authors, the photographers, in short all the players, would deposit their photographs, videos <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">and</g> texts,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_63 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="63" data-gr-id="63">Leandri</g> explains.</p>



<p>&#8220;The idea would be that companies on the Web can [query this database] to see if the content they use is free of copyrights, or not. Clearly, you send the photo that you want to use and [the database] answers you, yes, or no, depending on the footprint that has been associated with it. It&#8217;s much simpler technically than you think. And more right.&#8221;</p>



<p>While this kind of system could perhaps go some way to calming fears over the creation of an &#8220;upload filter oligopoly&#8221; as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/german-data-privacy-commissioner-sounds-alarm-over-upload-filter-oligopoly-190301/">described recently</a> by Germany&#8217;s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, <g class="gr_ gr_23 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="23" data-gr-id="23">Leandri&#8217;s</g> plan doesn&#8217;t appear to address a key and fundamental issue.</p>



<p>A database of content &#8211; whether it&#8217;s stored within YouTube&#8217;s systems or elsewhere &#8211; does not have the ability to differentiate when copyrighted content is used legally, for &#8220;parody, satire, reporting or criticism purposes&#8221;, for example.</p>



<p>And the quote above is indeed just that  &#8211; and it came from Qwant itself &#8211; dug up by TF on the company&#8217;s blog.</p>



<p>In a <a href="https://blog.qwant.com/protecting-copyright-with-robots-a-risk-for-fundamental-rights-and-freedoms/">commentary</a> published last year warning against Article 13 and titled &#8220;Putting our freedom of speech into the hands of robots&#8221;, the piece warns that automated systems can indeed hinder freedom of expression.</p>



<p>&#8220;We believe that when they rely on platforms to express themselves, citizens should be free to use content that they feel is needed to support their point of view, provided that this use is proportionate,&#8221; the article reads.</p>



<p>&#8220;This puts a heavy burden on robots that can’t determine when a human being is making a proportionate and legal use of a third-party content, for instance for parody, satire, reporting or criticism purposes.</p>



<p>&#8220;Putting our freedom of speech into the hands of robots that will look into what human beings share and assess the legality of what they say is not the Internet we want for our children. So while we understand the need for <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="5" data-gr-id="5">efficient</g> protection of copyright, we believe the proposed path is not one to follow,&#8221; the company added. </p>



<p>While the idea of an external database is novel, <g class="gr_ gr_214 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="214" data-gr-id="214">Leandri&#8217;s</g> solution doesn&#8217;t address the company&#8217;s own fears over Article 13, let alone those of the public. TF asked Qwant how these seemingly opposing views can be consolidated but at the time of publication, we were yet to hear back.</p>



<p>However, <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">Leandri</g> is also proposing something else. He says his company will lead the way by committing right now to paying creators a fair price for any works utilized by his company, whether the Directive passes or not.</p>



<p>&#8220;[T]o prove to you how much I support this directive, I announce to you that, without even waiting for its vote, Qwant will start to pay the editors of content, so the newspapers for the texts, the photographers for the photos, and the video and music publishers that our search engine indexes,&#8221; <g class="gr_ gr_24 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="24" data-gr-id="24">Leandri</g> concludes.</p>



<p>Proponents of Article 13 are already praising Qwant on social media for its support of the Copyright Directive but the apparent conflict may yet prove an irritant to users of its service, who value its stated open Internet stance.</p>



<p> </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169515
title: Flood of 4K James Bond Leaks Further Point to iTunes Breach
uri: Flood-of-4K-James-Bond-Leaks-Further-Point-to-iTunes-Breach
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/2cqdvjhmPZs/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169754" src="media/864c2b4b.bondleak.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bondleak.png" alt="" width="277" height="232">The ongoing battle between copyright holders and pirates is often described as a cat and mouse game, especially when it comes to content protection.</p>
<p>While most regular releases can be ripped or decrypted nowadays, 4K content remains a challenge to breach.</p>
<p>Up until a few days ago, pirate sites had never seen a decrypted 4K download from Apple&#8217;s video platform. However, a flurry of recent leaks, including many titles from the iTunes-exclusive &#8220;<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/movie-collection/the-james-bond-collection/id1184587341">James Bond Collection</a>,&#8221; suggests that the flood gates are now open.</p>
<p>It all started earlier this month ago when a pirated 4K copy of&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-aquaman-release-suggests-itunes-4k-is-breached-190306/">Aquaman surfaced online</a>. The file is a so-called &#8220;Web&#8221; release, also known as WEB-DL in P2P circles. This means that it&#8217;s a&nbsp;decrypted copy of the original source file. These were never seen before for 4K releases.</p>
<p>Because the Aquaman release was only available on iTunes in this quality at the time, the most likely conclusion was that Apple&#8217;s platform was the source. However, based on just one single leak, it was tricky to draw strong conclusions.</p>
<p>The news quickly spread among pirate videophiles though, with some hoping that this would lead to the release of more exclusive titles. The iTunes exclusive James Bond 4K collection, for example.</p>
<p>“Maybe we will be able to get the 007 catalogue off iTunes? In any way, exciting times!” a commenter on Reddit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/aximxo/aquaman20182160pwebdlddp51hdrhevcmoma/ehuxd34/">noted</a>.&nbsp; This is exactly what happened.</p>
<p>In less than&nbsp;a week, all 24 films from iTunes&#8217;&nbsp;&#8220;James Bond Collection&#8221; surfaced online as 2160p WEB-DLs .&nbsp;It started with a copy of the latest Bond movie &#8220;Spectre&#8221;, all the way to the earliest titles, including &#8220;Dr. No&#8221; and &#8220;From Russia With Love&#8221;.</p>
<p>The leaked movies originate from the DEFLATE release group and are marked as &#8216;INTERNAL&#8217; releases.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/a28fdc43.deflate_12.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/deflate_12.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169756" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/deflate_12.png 639w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/deflate_12-220x130.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px"><figcaption>Some of the 007 releases.</figcaption></figure>


<p>These 4K releases are exclusive to iTunes, which means that the release group likely has access to some kind of vulnerability or breach at the video platform and/or Apple TV hardware, which allows it to decrypt the videos&#8217; source files.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In theory, it&#8217;s also possible that there&#8217;s an &#8216;inside&#8217; leak with access to unencrypted source files, but that seems less likely.</p>
<p>The James Bond WEB-DL leaks are not the only iTunes-linked 4K titles that have appeared online either. We already mentioned Aquaman and&nbsp;Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse&nbsp;previously, and this week pirated 4K copies of&nbsp; Bumblebee and The Mule came out as well.</p>
<p>Interestingly, DEFLATE also released 4K WEB-DL copies of the first&nbsp;two episodes of the new TV-series &#8220;Now Apocalypse.&#8221; This title,&nbsp;combined&nbsp;with the release timing, are linked to Starzplay via Amazon. Since this is just one title, it is harder to confirm the source with certainty.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the past, we have seen <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirates-can-now-rip-4k-content-from-netflix-and-amazon-151127/">other 4K leaks from streaming platforms</a> such as Netflix and Amazon, but these were WEBRips, which are captured and encoded, instead of directly downloaded from the source file.&nbsp;</p>
<p>How the release group pulled this off remains a mystery for now. We contacted Apple to find out whether the company has any further details, but at the time of publication, we have yet to hear back.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169799
title: Three Pirate TV Device Sellers Jailed For a Total of 17 Years
uri: Three-Pirate-TV-Device-Sellers-Jailed-For-a-Total-of-17-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/LntJ6hIISOE/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/ebc83dd2.image-17.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-17.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169800" width="176" height="219"/></figure></div>



<p>Running pirate streaming platforms, such as now ubiquitous IPTV services currently available all over the Internet, is undoubtedly a profitable proposition for gray and black-market entrepreneurs.</p>



<p>For three men in the UK, however, that financial success has come with a hefty price tag attached.</p>



<p>According to information provided by the Premier League, three men from the UK were jailed yesterday for a total of 17 years for running streaming operations that defrauded the world famous soccer league.</p>



<p>After a four-week trial at Warwick Crown Court, Steven King &#8211; the scheme&#8217;s &#8216;mastermind&#8217; &#8211; was sentenced to seven years and four months in jail. Accomplice Paul Rolston was imprisoned for six years and four months, while Daniel Malone received three years and three months behind bars.</p>



<p>The men offered illegal subscription packages to more than 1,000 pubs, clubs <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">and</g> homes throughout England and Wales, via their websites DreamBoxTV.co.uk and YourFootie.com. The companies behind these sites traded under the names Dreambox (an unincorporated entity), Dreambox TV Limited, and Digital Switchover Limited.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/cc0098b9.image-18.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-18.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169824" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/image-18.png 1222w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/image-18-220x130.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 1222px) 100vw, 1222px"><figcaption>The YourFootie website (Archive: 2016)</figcaption></figure>



<p>According to the Premier League, the defendants generated in excess of £5 million over ten years <g class="gr_ gr_23 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar replaceWithoutSep" id="23" data-gr-id="23">of</g> operation. Data held by Companies House shows that Digital Switchover Limited was incorporated in 2008, with Dreambox TV Limited trading since 2012. Steven King is listed as the sole director of both businesses.</p>



<p>&#8220;The operation used a range of technologies to continue their fraud over the course of a decade,&#8221; the Premier League said in a statement.</p>



<p>&#8220;Most recently, the defendants engaged various third parties located in the UK and across Europe to create illegal broadcast streams, which they then sold on to their customers. Over the course of the conspiracy, premium content from more than 20 broadcasters around the world was fraudulently obtained and supplied by the defendants.&#8221;</p>



<p>One of the suppliers to the defendants was Terry O’Reilly, who <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-jails-pirate-iptv-box-supplier-for-four-years-161212/">received a four-year prison sentence</a> in 2016 on two counts of Conspiracy to Defraud after standing accused of selling 1,200 illegal streaming devices.</p>



<p>When handing down some of the toughest sentences ever seen in the UK <g class="gr_ gr_25 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style multiReplace" id="25" data-gr-id="25">for  similar</g> offenses, the Judge was said to have described the operation as a &#8220;dishonest, dodgy business&#8221;. According to the Premier League, the defendants&#8217; attempts to frustrate the investigation (including via logo-blocking) was an &#8220;aggravating factor&#8221; which contributed to their lengthy punishments.</p>



<p>&#8220;Today’s decision has provided further evidence that the law will catch up with companies and individuals that defraud rights owners and breach copyright,&#8221; said Premier League Director of Legal Services, Kevin Plumb.</p>



<p>&#8220;The custodial sentences issued here reflect the seriousness and the scale of the crimes. Using these services is unlawful and fans should be aware that when they do so they enter into agreements with illegal businesses. They also risk being victims of fraud or identity theft by handing over personal data and financial details.&#8221;</p>



<p>Kieron Sharpe, director at the Federation Against Copyright Theft, weighed in with similar warnings.</p>



<p>&#8220;The result of this case demonstrates that the illegal streaming of, and illegal access to, Premier League football is a serious crime. This was a criminal enterprise whose only function was to make money from defrauding the Premier League and the legitimate broadcasters,&#8221; Sharpe said<g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="9" data-gr-id="9">.</g></p>



<p>&#8220;For those people using services such as this, do not think that this is a grey area – it is not, it is breaking the law. Do not think it is a victimless crime – it is not, it puts thousands of ordinary peoples’ jobs at risk. Do not think that the internet provides anonymity – it does not.&#8221;</p>



<p>After the ruling was made public, TorrentFreak sought comment from several other players offering similar IPTV services to the public in the UK but just one agreed to comment.</p>



<p>&#8220;Sharpe is right, what we&#8217;re doing is illegal. He has to ask himself why people keep coming to us. Fred Bloggs [a reference to the public] buys a line [reference to a subscription] because it&#8217;s all the money they have left after working in a factory all week,&#8221; one supplier said, on condition of anonymity.</p>



<p>&#8220;Selling to pubs is stupid. Sky and BT are sniffing <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="4" data-gr-id="4">round</g> all the time and it&#8217;s only a question of time before a landlord tells them where they bought their line from. <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">Oh</g> and before you go, running everything through a company with your real name is retarded.&#8221;</p>



<p>While the supplier wouldn&#8217;t say whether the hefty sentences handed down would act as a deterrent to him, he was very interested to learn where the £5 million went and whether any of it (or other property) would be confiscated through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.</p>



<p>TorrentFreak asked the question to the Premier League and we&#8217;ll update this article when we receive a response.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169480
title: Anti Article 13 Petition Signed by Five Million People
uri: Anti-Article-13-Petition-Signed-by-Five-Million-People
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/p4dHpADliy0/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985" src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167">With the final vote on Europe&#8217;s Copyright Directive coming up next week, campaigning efforts from both supporters and opponents are reaching new heights.</p>
<p>Earlier this month <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/100s-of-rightsholder-groups-urge-eu-parliament-to-adopt-the-copyright-directive-190312/">hundreds</a> of organizations from the creative industries called on the European Parliament to quickly adopt the proposals. These organizations were later followed by many individual creators.</p>
<p>These supporters stress that the planned Copyright Directive will help them to protect their rights and get fair compensation for the use of their works on the Internet. This is also the message that EU copyright rapporteur Axel Voss is trying to convince the public with.</p>
<p>On the opposing side, there hasn&#8217;t been any shortage of action either.&nbsp;Today the “Stop the censorship-machinery! Save the Internet!” petition&nbsp;<a href="https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-stop-the-censorship-machinery-save-the-internet">passed five million signatures</a>, making it one of the largest to be hosted on the platform.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/bf7af23c.5million.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/5million.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169819"/><figcaption>5 million votes </figcaption></figure>


<p>The petition is part of a broader campaign. It has been up for months, but this latest milestone will undoubtedly be used to convince members of the EU Parliament to reject&nbsp;Article 13 and Article 11 in the upcoming vote next Tuesday.</p>
<p>Several well-known digital rights groups have also launched the&nbsp;<a href="https://pledge2019.eu/en">Pledge2019 campaign</a>, encouraging people to contact their representatives in the EU Parliament. According to the latest stats,&nbsp;121 MEPs have thus far pledged to vote against the Copyright Directive.</p>
<p>There are anti Article 13 website blackouts scheduled as well, which we also saw with the anti-SOPA protests several years ago. The <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Hauptseite">German version of Wikipedia</a> is going dark for 24 hours today,&nbsp;for example, and it is joined by the <a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hlavn%C3%A1_str%C3%A1nka">Slovak edition</a>.</p>
<p>Offline there are also several <a href="https://savetheinternet.info/demos">demonstrations</a> planned around Europe, from Portugal all the way to Finland. However, much of the protest is centered in and around Germany where the public has been very vocal about the Copyright Directive plans.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/1ae8ccbc.protests.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/protests.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169838"/><figcaption>Demonstrations</figcaption></figure>


<p>The Copyright Directive is a hot topic in German politics at the moment.&nbsp; Last Friday, Germany&#8217;s largest political party, CDU, <a href="https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/urheberrecht-113.html">announced</a> a plan to prevent &#8220;upload filters&#8221; in the country. Instead, large Internet platforms should&nbsp;pay flat-rate licensing payments to copyright holders.</p>
<p>This proposal, which assumes the Copyright Directive will pass, has been widely criticized&nbsp;too.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As the vote nears, the atmosphere is becoming more grim. Last weekend, German police investigated a <a href="http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/bonn/stadt-bonn/Bombendrohung-gegen-Bonner-B%C3%BCro-von-Axel-Voss-article4068543.html">bomb threat</a>&nbsp;directed towards the&nbsp;office of Axel Voss. Meanwhile, some press publishers reportedly <a href="https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1108677980086300672">threatened</a> Parliament Members with bad press if they vote against the Copyright Directive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>With less than a week to go, the campaigns from opponents&nbsp;and supporters will soon reach their climax. Then, it&#8217;s up to the Members of the European Parliament to have their final say.&nbsp;</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169840
title: Pirate IPTV: Police Across Europe Carry Out ‘Largest Ever’ Operation
uri: Pirate-IPTV-Police-Across-Europe-Carry-Out-Largest-Ever-Operati
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WJuT1nPgNnk/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/c6d79219.iptv.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/iptv.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-135034"/></figure></div>



<p>Over the past several years, consumers have been increasingly turning to &#8216;pirate&#8217; IPTV providers with the key aims of cutting bills and gaining convenient access to vast swathes of live TV and on-demand video.</p>



<p>But for rightsholders and broadcasters, these unlicensed platforms present a growing threat as they undermine existing business models with what are increasingly high-quality services.</p>



<p>The latest effort to stem the tide appears to be a significant one. Spain&#8217;s National Police says that in cooperation with police forces from the UK, Denmark, and Europol, it has conducted &#8220;the largest operation in Europe&#8221; against the illegal distribution of content via IPTV.</p>



<p>Police carried out 14 simultaneous raids, eight of them in Spain (in Malaga, Madrid <g class="gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="9" data-gr-id="9">and</g> Alicante), four in Denmark, and two in the UK. Five people were arrested and now stand accused of a variety of crimes, from IP offenses to fraud and money laundering. Ten others gave statements to police.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="media/d36b29f9.image-19.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-19.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169867" width="600"/><figcaption>Image: Spain National Police</figcaption></figure>



<p>The investigation began in late 2015 following a complaint filed by the UK&#8217;s Premier League against a Malaga-based website offering IPTV subscription packages providing &#8220;a multitude of international conditional access channels&#8221;, i.e, otherwise premium subscription-based content.</p>



<p>Following the complaint, police in Spain made efforts to verify the illegal activity, which included the provision of more than 800 television channels, on demand content, and radio stations. The packages offered by the unlicensed provider cost between 40 and 460 euros per month.</p>



<p>The investigation revealed various social network accounts through which the service attracted more customers, plus a network of 20 additional websites offering the same product.</p>



<p>&#8220;The strategy used by those investigated was to use a multitude of servers and change them periodically, gradually creating new web pages to form a framework that, in principle, had no relationship.&nbsp;In this way they aimed not to be detected by the National Police and continue profiting from the crime,&#8221; a statement from the National Police reads. </p>



<p>Officers in Spain determined that the business was being operated through Spanish companies but subscription payments from customers in more than 30 countries were made to a company in Gibraltar<g class="gr_ gr_266 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="266" data-gr-id="266">.</g></p>



<p>Investigations led the police to conclude they were dealing with a &#8220;specialized international criminal organization&#8221; with connections to Spain, Denmark, the UK, Latvia, Netherlands, and Cyprus.</p>



<p>&#8220;After a detailed investigation, the police discovered a link between the holding companies and the beneficiary bank accounts of the subscriptions, always belonging to the members of the organization,&#8221; Spanish police note.</p>



<p>&#8220;The research found that, to make the trail more difficult, they increasingly displayed less content and, in addition, they were using anonymization systems.&nbsp;They had evolved technologically in a way that was allowing them to increase the volume of customers, since they offered different ways of accessing the viewing of increasingly innovative channels.&#8221;</p>



<p>During the operation, police say they &#8220;disconnected&#8221; 66 servers involved in the crime while further identifying the locations of other servers that were part of the network. Police says they identified 11 server &#8216;farms&#8217;, with some comprising more than 44 servers.</p>



<p>Current police estimates suggest that the people behind the operation &#8220;obtained an economic benefit&#8221; of around 8 million euros with 1.6 million euros diverted to companies abroad since 2013. It&#8217;s alleged that the money was laundered through businesses that appeared respectable.</p>



<p>&#8220;To give the illicit business the appearance of legality and to launder the profits, they created companies with lawful activity and <g class="gr_ gr_30 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="30" data-gr-id="30">a</g> stated objective related to the provision of telecommunications services, internet <g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="3" data-gr-id="3">and</g> hardware,&#8221; Spanish police explain.</p>



<p>&#8220;On the one hand, they had the technical and technological infrastructure necessary to carry out their legal business (fiber operators) and also the illicit business (illegal IPTV subscriptions). On the other, they were authorized operators for fiber. It served as an argument for customers to believe that they were also in the business of distributing foreign channels.&#8221;</p>



<p>The operators, therefore, allegedly mixed legal revenue with illegal, in order to raise as little suspicion as possible. However, that didn&#8217;t stop the police from noticing their luxury lifestyles.</p>



<p>&#8220;Those arrested resided in luxury urbanizations on the Malaga coast, using high-end vehicles that were continually being renewed.&nbsp;In fact, the operation involved 12 high-end vehicles, in addition to bank accounts and real estate,&#8221; Spain&#8217;s National Police conclude. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169919
title: Hollywood Fears that Stream-Ripper Verdict Will Serve as Roadmap for Foreign Pirates
uri: Hollywood-Fears-that-Stream-Ripper-Verdict-Will-Serve-as-Roadmap-for-F
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HVisCkapicU/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-118800" src="media/f26de7b6.pirate-clash-fight.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="188" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight.jpg 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></p>
<p>Last year,&nbsp;a group of prominent record labels <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/major-labels-sue-more-youtube-ripper-sites-180806/">filed a piracy lawsuit</a> against the Russian operator of YouTube-ripping sites FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com.</p>
<p>The labels hoped to shut the sites down, but this effort backfired.</p>
<p>In January, US District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-ripper-wins-dismissal-of-record-labels-us-piracy-lawsuit-190123/">dismissed the case</a>&nbsp;due&nbsp;to a lack of jurisdiction. The Court carefully reviewed how the sites operate and found no evidence that they&nbsp;purposefully targeted either Virginia or the United States.</p>
<p>The sites are not seen as highly interactive and their interaction with users could not be classified as commercial, the Court concluded.</p>
<p>“As the Websites are semi-interactive, the interactions with the users are non-commercial, and there were no other acts by the Defendant that would demonstrate purposeful targeting, the Court finds that Defendant did not purposefully avail himself of the benefits and protections of either Virginia or the United States,” the verdict read.</p>
<p>The RIAA labels were disappointed and last week they submitted their <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/stream-ripper-verdict-gives-carte-blanche-to-internet-pirates-record-labels-say-190314/">opening brief</a> at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The labels are not the only organizations that have an interest in this case though. A few days ago, Hollywood&#8217;s MPAA and others chimed in as well.</p>
<p>The MPAA filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of the record labels. The industry group notes that it has a vested interest in the matter, as the district court verdict hurts its ability to go after site operators who are located outside of the US.</p>
<p>The MPAA argues that it was a mistake by the district court to grant the dismissal. That &#8216;error&#8217; could cause significant damage to copyright holders, it says, describing the Russian owner of the site as a brazen pirate.</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Kurbanov is a brazen digital pirate. His highly interactive, commercial,<br>
stream-ripping websites are, in essence, piracy valets that deliver stolen works to the websites’ users,&#8221; MPAA writes in its brief.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>While movie studios are not directly harmed by stream ripping, at least not to the extent that the record labels are, they fear that, if the current verdict is upheld, it will become harder to bring foreign site owners to justice.</p>
<p>&#8220;If affirmed and widely adopted, the district court’s erroneous holding could serve as a roadmap for foreign pirates, teaching them how to exploit the U.S. market and American intellectual property while evading jurisdiction in the United States, thus depriving aggrieved American copyright owners of a legitimate—and often the only—forum in which to enforce their rights.&#8221;</p>
<p>The MPAA has quite a bit of experience with these types of lawsuits. It previously brought cases against the Canadian operator of torrent site isoHunt, for example, and targeted a&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">Panamanian</span>&nbsp;defendant in the Hotfile case.</p>
<p>In the current brief, the movie industry group focuses in great detail on the supposed commercial nature of the stream-ripping sites. The Court concluded that the advertisements could not be seen as commercial interactions, but the MPAA disagrees.</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;The district court’s holding failed to appreciate how the internet-advertising and digital-piracy ecosystems work,&#8221; the MPAA writes.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;In fact, Kurbanov’s websites are quintessentially commercial. Kurbanov attracts users, in part, because the only cost of accessing the infringing websites is exposure to advertisements—no money changes hands between the users and Kurbanov.&#8221;</span></p>
<p>The&nbsp;advertising networks the sites rely on are seen as a cornerstone of digital piracy, the MPAA notes. Pirate sites can&#8217;t easily sell advertisements directly and therefore use third-party companies to generate revenue.</p>
<p>The Hollywood group argues that Kurbanov&#8217;s decision to use ad-networks, as opposed to direct sales, illustrates his commercial intent. These advertisements target US users, which is one of the reasons why the court should have jurisdiction over the site owner.</p>
<p>This would also be in line with previous orders issued by US federal courts, the movie studios conclude.</p>
<p>&#8220;Kurbanov, by engaging in this unlawful scheme, rendered himself subject to the jurisdiction of our federal courts. Courts have confronted the ad-based model of piracy in numerous prior cases, and have routinely held that such sites are commercial in nature,&#8221; MPAA writes.</p>
<p>The MPAA is not the only outside party to take an interest in this case.</p>
<p>The Association of American Publishers also submitted a <a href="media/97e8013b.AAPAmicus.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/AAPAmicus.pdf">brief</a> in support of the record labels, and the Copyright Alliance and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition has&nbsp;<a href="media/6e7dec78.UMG-v-Kurbanov-Stamped-Copy-CA-and-IACC-Amicus-Brief.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/UMG-v-Kurbanov-Stamped-Copy-CA-and-IACC-Amicus-Brief.pdf">done the same</a>.</p>
<p>All amici argue that the district court verdict should be overturned to protect the interests of copyright holders. Thus far, the Court of Appeal granted the filing of the latter two briefs. The MPAA brief has yet to be accepted.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the Amicus Curiae brief from the MPAA is <a href="media/8565cdd5.mpaaamicus.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/mpaaamicus.pdf">available here (pdf)</a>.&nbsp;</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169860
title: Google Unlocked Aims to ‘Uncensor’ Google Search Results
uri: Google-Unlocked-Aims-to-Uncensor-Google-Search-Results
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/oeMaZGKfFnM/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/16196a8e.security-breach-lock.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/security-breach-lock.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-115796" width="250" height="143"/></figure></div>



<p>For many years, Google has been bombarded with requests from copyright holders to remove allegedly-infringing content from its indexes.</p>



<p>As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightholders-have-asked-google-to-remove-4-billion-pirate-links-190316/">reported</a> here on TF last week, those requests have now reached astronomic levels &#8211; four billion links reported by&nbsp;168,180 copyright holders against&nbsp;2,283,811 separate domains. </p>



<p>Google honors most of the requests but rejects a fair few too, often due to the reported activity not actually being copyright infringement. However, when links are removed, users are informed of the fact via a note at the bottom of Google&#8217;s search results.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="media/0ca2d763.image-20.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-20.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169920" width="600"/></figure>



<p>As the image above shows, when results are removed the associated DMCA notice which caused the removal can be found on the LumenDatabase, the online repository where some Internet companies file complaints for transparency purposes.</p>



<p>Anyone can click through and view the notices for themselves but this can be time-consuming, especially when researching a large number of links. It&#8217;s a problem the folks at <a href="https://ibit.ws/post/google-unlocked/">ibit</a> tried to solve this week with the release of a new browser extension.</p>



<p>Compatible with Chrome and Opera, Google Unlocked is open source and available via its <a href="https://github.com/Ibit-to/google-unlocked/releases">Github repo</a>. Its developer offers this simple introduction.</p>



<p>&#8220;The extension scans hidden links that were censored on Google search results due to complaints. The tool scans those complaints and extracts the links from them, puts the links back into Google results, all in <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5"><g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">matter</g></g> of seconds,&#8221; he writes.</p>



<p>TF tested the extension (which isn&#8217;t available on the Chrome store) with a clean Opera install and found that it only asks for minimal permission to access Google domains, something confirmed by its developer.</p>



<p>&#8220;Please take a look at the code on Github, it is just a <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">few</g> lines of  Javascript code. The extension is completely open source and you <g class="gr_ gr_22 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style multiReplace" id="22" data-gr-id="22">install  it</g> after unpacking the zip file so no hidden secrets there,&#8221; he told TF.</p>



<p>&#8220;It only needs permission to access www.google.* domains so that it can inject the missing links back in the page. Under the hood, the extension checks the Google results for the word &#8220;complaint&#8221; and fetches the URL behind it with a simple XMLHttpRequest. It then parses those URLs and puts them back on the same page.&#8221;</p>



<p>Since by its very nature the tool searches for allegedly infringing links, we aren&#8217;t going to demonstrate those here. Safe to say, however, the tool does scan LumenDatabase as advertised and all the removed links do get embedded in the search result page itself, very large numbers of links in some instances.</p>



<p>However, we also discovered that Google Unlocked is helpful when researching invalid DMCA notices too, but that (and indeed its ability to concisely display URLs from legitimate takedown complaints) then uncovers a flaw in the system, one that cannot be solved easily &#8211; if at all.</p>



<p>Readers will perhaps recall that a poet by the name of Shaun Shane issued a heap of false DMCA notices against sites (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-curious-takedown-notices-of-tongues-of-glass-poet-shaun-shane-180519/">this one included</a>) that legitimately reported on his efforts to stop people writing about his poem. So, for fun, we typed the phrase &#8220;If only our tongues were made of glass&#8221; into Google, which informed us that a single result had been removed.</p>



<p>However, after pressing the Google Unlocked button, we were confronted with eight URLs injected by the extension, as shown below.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="media/459069cd.image-22.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-22.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169930" width="600"/><figcaption>Google&#8217;s search results, augmented with Google Unlocked links</figcaption></figure>



<p>While these are indeed all of the URLs present in the notice advised by Google under the &#8220;read the DMCA complaint&#8221; link provided, most of them were either rejected by Google or are actually legitimate links provided by Shaun Shane himself.</p>



<p>Most DMCA notices filed with the company also include locations where the original source material can be found, so these are also parsed by Google Unlocked and presented as removed content, as the image below illustrates.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="media/bc6a2a47.image-23.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/image-23.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169931" width="600"/><figcaption>An extract from the original notice</figcaption></figure>



<p>So, while Google Unlocked is very capable when it comes to &#8216;reinstating&#8217; links removed by Google following a copyright complaint, it has some of the same issues suffered by many anti-piracy crawlers &#8211; it simply cannot differentiate between infringing and non-infringing content.</p>



<p>Given the simplicity of the extension and the complexity of the situation, this is not a problem Google Unlocked will ever be able to completely solve. So, while it does work as advertised in many scenarios, the reinstated URLs will nearly always contain links pointing to legitimate sources or links that Google has thrown out due to them being non-infringing.</p>



<p>That being said, Google Unlocked&#8217;s developer is inviting others to contribute to this interesting project, which may improve its performance over time.</p>



<p>&#8220;I put the source on Github and I hope to get more programmers to do pull  requests to keep the extension up to date, since I know a lot of geeks  will love this extension,&#8221; he concludes. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=168534
title: The U.S. Remains Top Traffic Source For Pirate Sites, Research Shows
uri: The-U-S-Remains-Top-Traffic-Source-For-Pirate-Sites-Research-Shows
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/m_aUJfJxgbQ/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135510" src="media/a585da8e.piratemusiccasset.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/piratemusiccasset.png" alt="" width="234" height="152">U.S music and movie industry companies have exported their pirate site blocking scheme to countries <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nearly-4000-pirate-sites-are-blocked-by-isps-around-the-world-190210/">all over the globe</a>.</p>
<p>These efforts have been quite successful and decreased the number of visits to pirate sites, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-research-blocking-the-pirate-bay-works-so-140828/">according to the MPAA</a>.</p>
<p>On Hollywood&#8217;s home turf, however, pirate sites remain freely accessible. This is peculiar, not least because the United States remains the prime traffic source for many of these sites.</p>
<p>New research released by piracy tracking outfit <a href="https://www.muso.com/">MUSO</a> confirms this once again. Drawing on data from tens of thousands of the largest global piracy sites, the company found that the United States is the country that sends most visitors to pirate sites.</p>
<p>With well over 17 billion &#8216;visits&#8217; the U.S. takes the lead ahead of Russia, Brazil, India, France, and Turkey. The top ten is completed by Ukraine, Indonesia, the UK, and Germany. </p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/e09ad701.musoloc.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/musoloc.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169791"/><figcaption>Countries with the most pirate visits in 2018</figcaption></figure>


<p>That the U.S. is the top source doesn&#8217;t come as a surprise. The country has one of the largest populations in the world and is relatively well-connected. Based on the number of visits per Internet user, the list would obviously be different.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Looking at the broader picture MUSO reveals that visits to pirate sites have dipped slightly, from over 206 billion in 2017 to less than 190 billion a year later.&nbsp;&nbsp;This downward trend applies across the board and affects torrent, streaming, download, and stream-ripping sites.&nbsp;</p>
<p></p>


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/057cbf81.musoyear.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/musoyear.png" alt="" class="wp-image-169794"/><figcaption>Global pirate site visits throughout 2018</figcaption></figure>


<p>Streaming sites remain by far the most popular. More than half&nbsp;of all pirate site visits&nbsp;went to streaming platforms. Direct download sites come in second place with 22% and public torrent sites are in third, with around 13% of all visits.</p>
<p>Stream-ripping portals, which are generally seen as the most severe threat to the music industry, make up &#8216;only&#8217; 4% of the total volume of pirate site traffic, which equates to 7.7 billion visits. It has to be noted though, that stream rippers, as well as the other sites, can have legal uses as well.</p>
<p>Looking at the various types of pirated content, TV remains the most popular. Close to half of all pirate site visits were related to TV content, followed at a distance by movies, music, publishing, and software respectively.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">According to Andy Chatterley, MUSO&#8217;s CEO and co-founder, the fragmentation in the TV industry is one of the reasons why piracy remains relevant. People often need a variety of subscriptions to see all the shows they want.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Digital piracy is still prevalent globally. Television is the most popular content for piracy and given the fragmentation of content across multiple streaming services perhaps this isn’t surprising,&#8221; Chatterley says.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">MUSO sees the massive pirate audience as an opportunity for rightsholders, instead of it being just a threat. Understanding when and what people pirate can help the entertainment industry to convert pirates into paying customers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&#8220;Whilst it’s important to restrict the distribution of unlicensed content, there is a wealth of insight to be garnered from piracy audience data that gives a comprehensive view of global content consumption.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">One final data point that&#8217;s worth mentioning relates to search engines. MUSO notes that, compared to the year before, more people bypass search engines and visited pirate sites directly in 2018.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Fewer search engine referrals may be a sign that takedown notices are working, perhaps in combination with Google&#8217;s downranking strategy. However, people can still find their way to pirate sites.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&#8220;Simply focussing on take-downs is clearly a whack-a-mole approach and, while an essential part of any content protection strategy, it needs to be paired with more progressive thinking. With the right mindsight, piracy audiences can offer huge value to rights holders,” Chatterley notes.</p>
<p dir="ltr">While the data offers an intriguing insight into the piracy landscape, it only covers part of it.&nbsp; Many people use streaming boxes or mobile apps nowadays. These are not included in MUSO’s dataset, which relies on data provided by SimilarWeb, among other sources.</p>
<p dir="ltr">MUSO&#8217;s dataset covers visits to pirate sites only, which isn&#8217;t an exact science it appears.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Last year the company reported that there were roughly 300 billion pirate site visits in 2017. This number has now been readjusted to 206 billion. According to MUSO, this is because one of their data providers significantly scaled down mobile visit estimations.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In any case, the relative comparisons&nbsp;and broader trends remain the same, and the United States still has more pirate site visits than any other country in the world.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=169713
title: ISPs: We’re Definitely Not the Internet Police, Until We Decide We Should Be
uri: ISPs-We-re-Definitely-Not-the-Internet-Police-Until-We-Decide-We-S
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/MdHAMVgxAM4/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/206e821a.censored-china.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/censored-china.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-153780" width="232" height="160"/></figure></div>



<p>On several occasions over the years, TorrentFreak has reported on file-sharing platforms being blocked by ISPs, apparently for no reason at all.</p>



<p>On later examination, however, we&#8217;ve discovered that organizations such as the UK&#8217;s <a href="https://www.iwf.org.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/work-for-us">Internet Watch Foundation</a> charity have sometimes collaborated with ISPs to implement blocks, after child exploitation material was found on online platforms.</p>



<p>Blocking whole platforms is unquestionably overkill, a point I raised with the IWF some years ago. However, when you begin to talk with these people &#8211; the people who have to view sickening content on a daily basis to prevent child abusers from sharing their filth online &#8211; sympathy is very, very easy to find.</p>



<p>They look at this stuff so we don&#8217;t have to, and they deserve a medal for doing so. The Internet is undoubtedly a better place thanks to them.</p>



<p>But that brings us to censorship, a topic that everyone has a view on, including whether a certain level of censorship is acceptable, and whether or not it&#8217;s good for society. Statistically, few people argue that kids being abused on film is unworthy of censorship, not least because in most regions it&#8217;s criminally illegal.</p>



<p>But what about a video of innocent men, women <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">and</g> children being massacred in New Zealand? Should that be censored too? The Mirror newspaper in the UK didn&#8217;t think so, and actually&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Mirror_Editor/status/1106534340333314048">put some of the footage</a> on its front page. It was widely condemned for doing so.  </p>



<p>That said, the decision whether to censor was a question that Facebook, YouTube, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/15/18267645/reddit-watchpeopledie-ban-new-zealand-mosque-massacre-christchurch">Reddit</a> and dozens of other platforms answered quickly. According to their Terms of Service, such content is disallowed and that conversation &#8211; like it or not &#8211; is now all but over; their platform, their rules.</p>



<p>One of the big questions that <g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="3" data-gr-id="3">has</g> emerged, however, is whether the powers that be should prevent us from seeing such horrific acts for ourselves, perhaps in order to fully appreciate what we are up against in this so-called civilization of ours.</p>



<p>Did most of us need to witness thousands of people die live on international TV to fully appreciate the horrors of 9/11? Did we really need to see those poor souls throwing themselves out of those burning buildings? Because if we didn&#8217;t, it&#8217;s now too late. That distressing footage remains on YouTube today.</p>



<p>Never forget 9/11, we all agree, but you can&#8217;t forget something you didn&#8217;t see for yourself.</p>



<p>So did we really need to witness <g class="gr_ gr_65 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_hide gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="65" data-gr-id="65">a lone-gunman massacre innocents</g> live on Facebook to appreciate just how deluded some people can become? Or should we be protected from ourselves, based on the notion that it will deprive extremists of publicity, by those in power who claim to know better?</p>



<p>If those powers include ISPs, the answer is already with us. As widely <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-zealand-mobile-carriers-block-8chan-4chan-and-liveleak/">reported</a>, in the wake of the attack ISPs in both Australia and New Zealand took it upon themselves to begin blocking the terrorist&#8217;s video, wherever it could be found online but couldn&#8217;t be immediately taken down.</p>



<p>That meant that <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.sparknz.co.nz/" target="_blank">Spark NZ</a>,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.vodafone.co.nz/" target="_blank">Vodafone NZ</a>, and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.vocus.co.nz/" target="_blank">Vocus NZ</a>&nbsp;all implemented a voluntary blockade of entire sites including MEGA, Liveleak, and a list of other platforms, no court order required.</p>



<p>&#8220;My cyber security team at Spark has done its best overnight to stay on top of the sites distributing the horrific material from the terrorists. Where they find it, they apply temporary blocks and notify the site, requesting they remove the material,&#8221; said Simon Moutter, Managing Director of Spark NZ.</p>



<p>Moutter also took the time to apologize to &#8220;legitimate internet users inconvenienced&#8221; by the site blockades, an acknowledgment to obvious collateral damage but perhaps understandably pragmatic in the larger scheme of the crisis.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s impossible to speak for all of those people negatively affected by the blocks but it&#8217;s likely there would&#8217;ve been quite a bit of understanding based on the good intentions of Spark, Vodafone, and Vocus, in the much the same way that IWF-ordered blockades are seen as necessary elsewhere, when they occur.</p>



<p>The trouble is, New Zealand&#8217;s ISPs may now have backed themselves into a corner in life after the Christchurch massacre. In the blink of an eye they have effectively declared that if they want to become the Internet Police, they will deputize themselves to become the Internet Police.</p>



<p>Vocus, in particular, now appears to have contradicted its former stance.</p>



<p>&#8220;SKY’s call that sites be blacklisted on their say so is dinosaur behavior, something you would expect in North Korea, not in New Zealand,&#8221; said Vocus last year in response to a request to block The Pirate Bay.</p>



<p>&#8220;It isn’t our job to police the Internet and it sure as hell isn’t SKY’s either, all sites should be equal and open,&#8221; the company&#8217;s <g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="3" data-gr-id="3">uniquivocal</g> statement read at the time.</p>



<p>Of course, no one wishes to trivialize mass murder by comparing it to copyright infringement, it&#8217;s obvious to any fool what the priority is here when people are under attack. But important actions over access to information don&#8217;t exist in a bubble.</p>



<p>Either ISPs are the Internet Police whenever they deem fit or they are not, and in the absence of legislation stating otherwise, all of these ISPs may have just opened up Pandora&#8217;s box.</p>



<p>To be clear, the awful video at the center of this controversy was potentially illegal in New Zealand at the moment it was put online, but even the government there initially declined to definitively declare its status beyond it is &#8220;<a href="https://www.dia.govt.nz/Sharing-of-Christchurch-shooting-video-likely-to-be-against-the-law">likely to be objectionable content</a> under New Zealand law.&#8221;</p>



<p>That position changed Monday when it fell to New Zealand Chief Censor David Shanks to <a href="https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/news/latest-news/christchurch-shooting-video-officially-objectionable/">announce</a> that under the Films, Videos &amp; Publications Classification Act 1993, the video is deemed &#8220;objectionable&#8221; and therefore illegal.</p>



<p>In hindsight, it is not hard to see why the ISPs took the action they did. New Zealand is a peaceful country and the families of its lost citizens (and those from other nations that were also cruelly gunned down) deserve to have their dignities preserved, to the extent possible, in what must have been desperate times<g class="gr_ gr_142 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="142" data-gr-id="142">.</g></p>



<p>To that end, the ISPs in question clearly felt that since they were in a position to contribute positively, that&#8217;s what they must do. After all, they are all serving the affected communities and, in times of crisis, everyone making a small contribution can make a huge difference. That kind of team effort in response to a disaster is arguably the best of human nature.</p>



<p>However, the barrier to entry &#8211; to wider Internet censorship &#8211; has now been arguably lowered and there will be plenty of groups standing by with their own sets of demands. Insisting that ISPs aren&#8217;t the Internet Police won&#8217;t be a position the companies above will be able to hold so easily anymore.</p>



<p>On a personal level, I would&#8217;ve been much happier if the two people in my Whatsapp contacts list who sent me the video had been prevented from doing so by owners Facebook. However, that would mean a company interfering with my communications, something that few people want, myself included. Clearly, we have tough choices.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_23 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="23" data-gr-id="23">But</g>, ultimately, it didn&#8217;t matter, because as an adult, I took control of my own destiny.</p>



<p><em>I personally chose not to watch the&nbsp;video</em> (explicit text descriptions online were harrowing enough) and I&#8217;m hoping that my response to the senders will mean I&#8217;ll never receive anything like it again. Not to say I can&#8217;t find the video online &#8211; anyone can inside 10 mins &#8211; but it&#8217;s the educated choice of the individual that counts here, not the power of ISPs.</p>



<p>ISPs do not have the power to change human nature &#8211; only our life experiences, education, and values can. The monster who perpetrated the crimes last week clearly has severe problems in that area. That being said, seeing such horrors for oneself can sometimes have a positive effect.</p>



<p>A video I viewed on Kazaa (if I recall correctly) in the early 2000s, of what was claimed to be a soldier getting his throat cut, was the best aversion therapy against senseless violence that I have ever experienced. The guy lost his life in the most awful way but if only one good thing came of that, it is the persistent belief that violence and brutality should be avoided at all costs.</p>



<p>We can only hope that most of the people who viewed the video this week experienced a similar epiphany and positive effect &#8211; perhaps not fully today, but one that matures with time. But make no mistake, censorship &#8211; via blocking or other means &#8211; will not change the minds of the twisted, nor those <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/website-kiwi-farms-refuses-to-surrender-data-linked-to-accused-christchurch-terrorist-brendan-tarrant/news-story/46d3c925ef84b24dde6194c42b3c2241">reveling in obstruction</a> while rubbing salt in the wounds.</p>



<p>ISP blockades of any content will always be ineffective against the determined. In the case of pirated content, we already know the only thing that can provide serious momentum to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-is-driven-by-availability-price-isp-says-190226/">long-term change</a> in New Zealand. But when it comes to the horrors of what transpired last week, change has to come from within.</p>



<p>It is the choice of the individual alone that can help us progress and it&#8217;s the only real way to produce any long-term meaningful change. While we dissect the motivations of the killer, we should also consider why no one &#8211; <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/facebook-no-one-reported-nz-shooting-video-during-17-minute-livestream/">not a single person</a> &#8211; reported the massacre to Facebook as it was live-streamed.</p>



<p>Censorship will always prove controversial, no matter how well-meaning, but for the ISPs of New Zealand the battle to claim they aren&#8217;t the Internet Police may now prove more difficult<g class="gr_ gr_95 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="95" data-gr-id="95">.</g></p>



<p>Plenty of groups are queuing up to have them censor content <em>they</em> find objectionable but there&#8217;s still a decent chance they won&#8217;t exploit that for their own ends. For now, we can only hope that a sense of perspective prevails and that education and compassion will prevent more of these atrocities happening in the future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=166768
title: Which VPN Services Keep You Anonymous in 2019?
uri: Which-VPN-Services-Keep-You-Anonymous-in-2019
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uRygETv-pKY/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135982" src="media/9b13b8a6.privacy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/privacy.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="170">When we first started this VPN anonymity&nbsp;series, almost a decade ago, the market was relatively small and easy to oversee.</p>
<p>Today, the VPN industry is booming with hundreds of companies offering a wide variety of services, some more anonymous than others.</p>
<p>The VPN review business is also booming. Just do a random search for &#8220;best VPN&#8221; or &#8220;VPN review&#8221; and you&#8217;ll see dozens of sites filled with recommendations and preferred picks.</p>
<p>We don&#8217;t want to make any recommendations. When it comes to privacy&nbsp;and anonymity, an outsider can&#8217;t offer any guarantees. Vulnerabilities are always lurking around the corner and even with the most secure VPN, you still have to trust the VPN company with your data.</p>
<p>Instead, we aim to provide an unranked overview of VPN providers, asking them questions we&nbsp;believe are important. Many of these questions relate to anonymity and security, and the various companies answer them in&nbsp;their own words.</p>
<p>We hope that this helps users to make an informed choice. However, we stress that users themselves should always make sure that their setup is secure.</p>
<p>This year&#8217;s questions and answers are listed below. We have included all VPNs that don&#8217;t keep extensive logs or block BitTorrent traffic on all of their servers. This list is not exhaustive.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>1. Do you keep ANY logs which would allow you to match an IP-address and a time stamp to a current or former user of your service? If so, exactly what information do you hold and for how long?</em></p>
<p><em>2. What is the name under which your company is incorporated, and under which jurisdiction does your company operate?</em></p>
<p><em>3. What tools are used to monitor and mitigate abuse of your service, including limits on concurrent connections if these are enforced?</em></p>
<p><em>4. Do you use any external email providers (e.g. Google Apps), analytics, or support tools ( e.g Live support, Zendesk) that hold information provided by users?</em></p>
<p><em>5. In the event you receive a DMCA takedown notice or a non-US equivalent, how are these handled?</em></p>
<p><em>6. What steps would be taken in the event a court orders your company to identify an active or former user of your service? How would your company respond to a court order that requires you to log activity for a user going forward? Have these scenarios ever played out in the past?</em></p>
<p><em>7. </em>Is<em> BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic allowed on all servers? If not, why? Do you provide port forwarding services? Are any ports blocked?</em></p>
<p><em>8. Which payment systems/providers do you use? Do you take any measures to ensure that payment details can’t be linked to account usage or IP-assignments?</em></p>
<p><em>9. What </em>is<em> the most secure VPN connection and encryption algorithm you would recommend to your users?</em></p>
<p><em>10. Do you provide tools such as “kill switches” if a connection drops and DNS/IPv6 leak protection? Do you support Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality?</em></p>
<p><em>11. Are any of your VPN servers hosted by third parties? If so, what measures do you take to prevent those partners from snooping on any inbound and/or outbound traffic? Do you use your own DNS servers?&nbsp;</em></p>
<p><em>12. In which countries are your servers physically located? Do you offer virtual locations?</em></p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<h2><a name="pia"></a><a href="https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/">Private Internet Access</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/d2a1e068.pia.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pia.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-41039" title="torrentprivacy" src="media/d2a1e068.pia.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pia.png" alt="VPN review" width="180" height="40"></a>1. We do not store any logs relating to traffic, session, DNS or metadata. There are no logs for any person or entity to match an IP address and a timestamp to a user of our service. In other words, we do not log, period. Privacy is our policy.</p>
<p>2. London Trust Media Incorporated, an Indiana corporation.</p>
<p>3. We have an active, proprietary system in place to help mitigate abuse.</p>
<p>4. At the moment we are using Google Apps Suite and Google Analytics with interest and demographics tracking disabled and anonymize IP addresses enabled.</p>
<p>5. We do not monitor our users, and we keep no logs, period. That said, we have an active, proprietary system in place to help mitigate abuse.</p>
<p>6. Every subpoena is scrutinized to the highest extent for compliance with both the “spirit” and “letter of the law.” While we have not received valid court orders, we periodically receive subpoenas from law enforcement agencies that we scrutinize for compliance and respond accordingly. This is all driven based upon our commitment to privacy.</p>
<p>All this being said, we do not log and do not have any data on our customers other than their signup e-mail and account information.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent and file-sharing traffic are allowed and treated equally to all other traffic (although it’s routed through a second VPN in some cases). We do not censor our traffic, period.</p>
<p>8. We utilize a variety of payment systems, including, but not limited to: PayPal, Credit Card (with Stripe), Amazon, Google, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Zcash, CashU, OKPay, PaymentWall, and any major store-bought gift card. Payment data is not linked nor linkable to user activity due to our no logs policy.</p>
<p>9. At the moment, the most secure and practical VPN connection and encryption algorithm that we recommend to our users would be our cipher suite of AES-256 + RSA4096 + SHA256.</p>
<p>10. Yes, our users gain access to a plethora of additional tools, including but not limited to:</p>
<p>(a) Kill Switch: Ensures that traffic is routed through the VPN such that if the VPN connection is unexpectedly terminated, the traffic will not route.</p>
<p>(b) IPv6 Leak Protection: Protects clients from websites which may include IPv6 embeds, which could lead to IPv6 IP information coming out.</p>
<p>(c) DNS Leak Protection: This is built-in and ensures that DNS requests are made through the VPN on a safe, private, no-log DNS daemon.</p>
<p>(d) Shared IP System: We mix clients’ traffic with many other clients’ traffic through the use of an anonymous shared-IP system ensuring that our users blend in with the crowd.</p>
<p>(e) MACE™: Protects users from malware, trackers, and ads.</p>
<p>11. We utilize our own bare metal servers in third-party data centers that are operated by trusted friends and, now, business partners whom we have met and on which we have completed serious due diligence. Our servers are located in facilities including 100TB, Choopa, Leaseweb, among others.</p>
<p>We also operate our own DNS servers on our high throughput network. These servers are private and do not log.</p>
<p>12.We currently operate 3,335 servers across 53 locations in 33 countries. For more information on what countries are available, please visit our <a href="https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/network/">network information page</a>. All of our locations are physical and not virtualized.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/">Private Internet Access website</a></p>
<h2><a name="nordvpn"></a><a href="https://nordvpn.com/">NordVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-163121" src="media/98dc4c8e.nordnew1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nordnew1.png" alt="" width="180" height="35">1. We do not keep any logs nor timestamps that could allow our customers to be identified.</p>
<p>2. Tefincom S.A., operated under the jurisdiction of Panama.</p>
<p>3. We are only able to see the server load, which helps us optimize our service and provide the best possible Internet speed to our users. We also have developed and implemented an automated tool that limits the maximum number of concurrent connections to six. Apart from that, we do not use any other tools.</p>
<p>4. NordVPN uses third-party data processors for emailing services and to collect basic website and app analytics. We use Iterable for correspondence, Zendesk to provide customer support, Google Analytics to monitor website and app data, as well as Crashlytics, Firebase Analytics and Appsflyer to monitor application data.</p>
<p>All third-party services we use are bound by a contract with us to never use the information of our users for their own purposes and not to disclose the information to any third parties unrelated to the service.</p>
<p>5. We operate under Panama’s jurisdiction, where DMCA and similar orders have no legal bearing. Therefore, they do not apply to us.</p>
<p>6. If the order or subpoena is issued by a Panamanian court, we would have to provide the information if we had any. However, our zero-log policy means that we do not store any information about our users’ online activity – only their email address and basic payment info. So far, we haven’t had any such cases.</p>
<p>7. We do not restrict any BitTorrent or other file-sharing applications on most of our servers. We have optimized a number of our servers specifically for file-sharing. At the moment, we do not offer port forwarding and block outgoing ports SMTP25 and NetBIOS.</p>
<p>8. Our customers are able to pay via all major credit cards, regionally localized payment solutions (e.g. AliPay, Yandex, etc.) and cryptocurrencies. Our payment processing partners collect basic billing information for payment processing and refund requests, but it cannot be related to any Internet activity of a particular customer. Bitcoin is the most anonymous option, as it does not link the payment details to the user identity or other personal information.</p>
<p>9. <span class="fontstyle0">For OpenVPN connection, we use the AES 256 GCM algorithm. For IKEv2/IPSec, the ciphers used to generate Phase1 keys are AES-256-GCM for encryption, coupled with SHA2-384 to ensure integrity, combined with PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) using 3072-bit Diffie Hellmann keys.</span></p>
<p>10. Yes, we provide both an automatic kill switch and a feature for DNS leak protection. Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality is not yet supported with our service; however, all NordVPN apps offer an integrated IPv6 Leak Protection.</p>
<p>11. We use a hybrid model, whereby we own some of our servers ourselves but also partner with premium data centers with strong security practices.</p>
<p>Due to our special server configuration, no one is able to collect or retain any data, ensuring compliance with our no-logs policy. We also have specific requirements for network providers to ensure the highest service quality for our customers. We do have our own DNS servers, and all DNS requests go through those. Also, our customers can use any DNS server they like.</p>
<p>12. All of our servers are physically located in the stated countries. We do not offer virtual locations. At the moment, NordVPN provides more than 5,000 servers in 61 countries, and the full location list can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://nordvpn.com/servers">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://nordvpn.com/">NordVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="expressvpn"></a> <a href="https://www.expressvpn.com/">ExpressVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-123282" src="media/524f4f75.expressvpnlogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/expressvpnlogo.png" alt="expressvpnlogo" width="180" height="53">1. No, ExpressVPN doesn’t keep any connection or activity logs, including never logging browsing history, data contents, DNS requests, timestamps, source IPs, outgoing IPs, or destination IPs. This ensures that we cannot ascertain whether a given user was connected to the VPN at a certain time, assumed a particular outgoing IP address, or generated any specific network activity.</p>
<p>2. Express VPN International Ltd. is a BVI (British Virgin Islands) company.</p>
<p>3. We do not monitor or log any user activity on our network. We reserve the right to block specific abusive traffic to protect the server network and other ExpressVPN customers.</p>
<p>With regards to limits on the number of devices simultaneously connected, no timestamps or IP addresses are ever logged; our systems are merely able to identify how many active sessions a given license has at a given moment in time and use that counter to decide whether a license is allowed to create one additional session. This counter is temporary and is not tracked over time.</p>
<p>4. We use Zendesk for support tickets and SnapEngage for live chat support; we have assessed the security profiles of both and consider them to be secure platforms. We use Google Analytics and cookies to collect marketing metrics for our website and several externals tools for collecting crash reports (only if a user opts into sharing these reports).</p>
<p>5. As we do not keep any data or logs that could link specific activity to a given user, ExpressVPN does not identify or report users as a result of DMCA notices.</p>
<p>6. Legally our company is only bound to respect subpoenas and court orders when they originate from the British Virgin Islands government or in conjunction with BVI authorities via a mutual legal assistance treaty.</p>
<p>As a general rule, we reply to law enforcement inquiries by informing the investigator that we do not possess any data that could link activity or IP addresses to a specific user. Regarding a demand that we log activity going forward: were anyone ever to make such a request, we would refuse to re-engineer our systems in a way that infringes on the privacy protections that our customers trust us to uphold.</p>
<p>7. ExpressVPN allows all traffic, including BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic (without rerouting), from all of our VPN servers. At the moment, we do not support port forwarding.</p>
<p>8. ExpressVPN accepts all major credit cards, PayPal, and a large number of local payment options. We also accept Bitcoin, which we recommend for those who seek maximum privacy in relation to their form of payment. As we do not log user activity, IP addresses, or timestamps, there is no way for ExpressVPN or any external party to link payment details entered on our website with a user’s VPN activities.</p>
<p>9. ExpressVPN apps generally default to our recommended protocol for security and performance: OpenVPN UDP. Our apps use a 4096-bit CA, AES-256-CBC encryption, TLSv1.2, and SHA512 signatures to authenticate our servers.</p>
<p>10. Yes, ExpressVPN protects users from data leaks in a number of ways; our leak protection and open-source leak testing tool suite are detailed on our Privacy Research Lab page.</p>
<p>Our “Network Lock” feature, which is turned on by default, prevents all types of traffic including IPv4, IPv6, and DNS from leaking outside of the VPN, such as when your internet connection drops or in various additional scenarios where other VPNs might leak.</p>
<p>We do not yet support IPv6 routing through the VPN tunnel, although we are considering adding this in the future in a subset of our server locations.</p>
<p>11. Our VPN servers are hosted in trusted data centers with strong security practices, where the data center employees do not have server credentials.</p>
<p>In the past year, we have developed technology to let our servers run in RAM only, booted from a read-only disk. That means we can apply server patches quickly and with certainty and prevent any possible intruder from persisting on our servers.</p>
<p>We do not keep activity logs or connection logs, and because our VPN servers cannot write to hard drives, they are unable to log sensitive data even by accident. We run our own logless DNS on every server, meaning no personally identifiable data is ever stored. We do not use third-party DNS.</p>
<p>12) ExpressVPN has over 3,000 servers covering 94 countries. For countries where it is difficult to find servers that meet ExpressVPN’s rigorous standards for server security, reliability, and speed, we use virtual locations to still make it possible for users to assume IP addresses registered to such countries.</p>
<p>These locations represent less than 3% of ExpressVPN’s server count, and the specific countries are published on our&nbsp;website <a href="https://www.expressvpn.com/support/troubleshooting/virtual-server-locations/">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.expressvpn.com/">ExpressVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="torguard"></a><a href="https://torguard.net/">TorGuard</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-139106" src="media/7f0bb0e5.torguard_TF_logo2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torguard_TF_logo2.png" alt="" width="180" height="59"></p>
<p>1. No logs or timestamps are kept whatsoever. TorGuard does not store any traffic logs or user session data on our network. In addition to a strict no logging policy we run a default shared IP configuration across all servers. Because there are no logs or timestamps kept and multiple users sharing a single IP address, it is not possible to match any user to an IP address or username.</p>
<p>2. TorGuard is owned by VPNetworks LLC and operates under US jurisdiction.</p>
<p>3. We utilize customized software to monitor server health and network performance, we use global rule sets to try to catch and block attempts to abuse our service in real time. We also limit simultaneous connections through our backend authentication servers.</p>
<p>4. We use anonymized Google Analytics data to optimize our website and Sendgrid for transactional email. TorGuard&#8217;s 24/7 live chat services are provided through Livechatinc&#8217;s platform. Customer support desk requests are maintained by TorGuard&#8217;s own private ticketing system.</p>
<p>5. In the event a valid DMCA notice is received it is immediately processed by our abuse team. Due to our no log and no time stamp policy and shared IP network – we are unable to forward any requests to a single user.</p>
<p>6. If a court order is received, it is first handled by our legal team and examined for validity in our jurisdiction. Should it be deemed valid, our legal representation would be forced to further explain the nature of our shared IP network configuration and the fact that we do not hold any identifying logs or time stamps.</p>
<p>TorGuard&#8217;s network was designed to operate with minimum server resources and is not physically capable of retaining such logs. There is no on/off switch to log activity so it would be impossible to comply with such a request. No, this has never happened.</p>
<p>7. Yes, BitTorrent and all P2P traffic is allowed on all servers, no restrictions are in place. Yes, we do provide port forwarding through OpenVPN (with port fail protection), we also offer the ability to whitelist IP&#8217;s that can access open ports externally, and all other IPs will be blocked. We allow all ports above 2048 to be opened by users through the control panel in the member’s area.</p>
<p>8. We currently offer over 200 different payment options. This includes all forms of credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, cryptocurrency (e.g. Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero + many more), Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, 100+ Gift Card brands, and many other worldwide local payment options.</p>
<p>It is impossible to be linked back to account usage or IP assignments because we maintain zero logs across our network.</p>
<p>9. For best security, we advise clients to use OpenVPN and select the cipher option AES-256-GCM, with 4096bit RSA and SHA512 HMAC. We use TLS 1.2 on all servers with perfect forward secrecy enabled. This can also be used in conjunction with Stunnel for a second SSL layer or it can be used in conjunction with shadowsocks stealth proxy that also uses AES-256-CBC on top of what you&#8217;re already using. OpenVPN port 53 also takes advantage of tls-crypt.</p>
<p>TorGuard offers a wide range of VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, iKEV2, IPsec, SSTP, OpenConnect/AnyConnect, Stunnel, WireGuard, SSH Tunnels and Shadowsocks.</p>
<p>10. TorGuard&#8217;s VPN software provides strict security features by automatically disabling IPv6 and blocking any potential DNS or WebRTC leaks.</p>
<p>We offer a full connection kill-switch that safeguards your VPN traffic against accidental disconnects and will hard kill your interfaces if needed. There is also an application kill-switch that can terminate specific apps if the VPN connection is interrupted.</p>
<p>TorGuard will begin offering IPv6 VPN connectivity in select Shared IP and Residential IP locations in the coming months.</p>
<p>11. We retain full physical control over all hardware and only seek partnerships with data centers who can meet our strict security criteria. All servers are deployed and managed exclusively by TorGuard staff.</p>
<p>By default, the TorGuard VPN app uses private no log DNS on each VPN endpoint. The TG android and desktop apps also allow clients to modify their connected DNS with a custom DNS entry of their choosing or to use TorGuard Endpoint DNS on 10.9.0.1.</p>
<p>All traffic between the end user and the VPN server is encrypted making it impossible for any provider to decipher the tunnel or snoop on user activity.</p>
<p>12. TorGuard currently maintains thousands of servers in over 55 countries around the world, and we continue to expand the network each month. All servers are physically located in the stated country of origin and we do not use any virtual locations on any location within the TorGuard network.</p>
<p><a href="https://torguard.net/">TorGuard website</a></p>
<h2><a name="ipredator"></a><a href="https://ipredator.se/">Ipredator</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135425" src="media/d6bc50ed.ipredator_brand_blue.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ipredator_brand_blue.png" alt="" width="179" height="32">1. No logs are retained that would allow the correlation of the user’s IP address to a VPN address. The session database does not include the origin IP address of<br>
the user. Once a connection has been terminated the session information is deleted from the session database.</p>
<p>2. The name of the company is PrivActually Ltd which operates out of Cyprus.</p>
<p>3. Real abuse is mitigated by meatware [humans]. User traffic is not monitored or inspected in any way. TCP/IP sessions are not limited individually, but&nbsp;by server, to 10 million established connections. Packet floods are dealt with by using adaptive packet rate limiters at the switch port level and kick in at 90k pps. The number of concurrent connections is limited by the VPN backend software.</p>
<p>4. There is no visitor tracking mechanism, not even passive ones analyzing the web server logs. IPredator runs its own mail infrastructure and does not use third party products like Gmail. Neither do we use data hogs like a ticket system to manage support requests. IPredator sticks to a simple mail system and deletes old data after three months from the mailboxes.</p>
<p>5. Requests are evaluated according to the legal frameworks set forth in the jurisdictions the service operates in and we react accordingly. After receiving a request its validity is verified. DMCA takedown abuse using fake credentials seems to be all the rage these days.</p>
<p>6. If the court order is not a gag order, notice would be given in the canary and other media channels. In the case that we would be forced to log user activity, we would shut down the service. Spontaneous bankruptcy &#8230; sometimes the only winning move is not to play.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic is allowed. On the public IP VPN pools, port forwarding is not required.</p>
<p>8. PayPal, Bitcoins, and Payson are fully integrated. Other payment methods are available on request. An internal transaction ID is used to link payments to the payment processor.</p>
<p>We do not store any other data about payments associated with the user’s account. The systems dealing with payments have no connection to the part of the infrastructure that handles VPN&nbsp; connections.</p>
<p>Frontend proxies are used to make sure user IP addresses do not show up in any of the backend systems. Payment processors cannot link a payment to a specific account or IP&nbsp; address based on the data we have to provide.</p>
<p>9. IPredator provides config files for various platforms and clients that enforce TLS1.2 on supported systems. Ideally, the client negotiates ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM as a suite for the control and AES256 for the data channel. For further protection, detailed setup instructions and howtos are provided to our users.</p>
<p>10. <a href="https://ipredator.se/netsplice">Netsplice</a>, IPredator&#8217;s cross-platform VPN client, has native support for various types of kill switches. You can kill a program, just put it to sleep, shutdown your machine or wipe your hard disk &#8230; it is up to you. Users can use <a href="https://check.ipredator.se">this page</a> to check for a number of leaks, not just DNS leaks.</p>
<p>11. We own every server, switch, and cable we use to provide the VPN service up to our uplink network. The machines are located in Sweden due to the laws that allow us to run our service in a privacy-protecting manner.</p>
<p>If the situation should change we are able to move operations to a different country. The core of any privacy service is trust in the integrity of the underlying infrastructure. Everything else has to build upon that, which includes the DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. Sweden, no virtual locations at this time.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ipredator.se/">Ipredator website</a></p>
<h2><a name="protonvpn"></a><a href="https://protonvpn.com/">ProtonVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-152665" src="media/d4224da4.proton.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/proton.png" alt="" width="180" height="60">1. No. Each time a user connects to ProtonVPN, we only monitor the timestamp of their last successful login attempt. This gets overwritten upon each successful login. This timestamp does not contain any identifying information, just the time and date of the login.</p>
<p>We do not collect any information regarding a user’s IP address, and we only retain the limited timestamp information to protect user accounts from password brute force attacks.</p>
<p>2. Our registered name is Proton Technologies AG, and we operate under the jurisdiction of Switzerland.</p>
<p>3. We use internal tools and systems to mitigate the abuse of our service and to ensure the best quality for our users.</p>
<p>4. We currently use anonymized Google Analytics data to optimize our website, but we are migrating to a local installation of Matomo, an open source analytics tool. For customer support, we use ZenDesk.</p>
<p>The information users provide when they contact our support team is processed for analytics purposes (like aggregating the number of questions regarding Secure Streaming), but they are not combined with any personal data.</p>
<p>5. A DMCA takedown notice or its non-US equivalent would be handled according to our internal processes. Such a request would never be connected to a specific user, thanks to our strict no-logs policy.</p>
<p>6. We can only disclose the limited user data we possess, but our strict no-logs policy means we don’t have any information about our users’ online activity.</p>
<p>The limited data we have will only be disclosed when requested by a Swiss court for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offenses or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security.</p>
<p>Court orders must be approved by either the Cantonal Courts of Geneva or the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. Under Swiss law, it is obligatory to notify the target of a data request, although such notification may come from the authorities and not from the Company. We have not had any requests of this kind.</p>
<p>7. We allow P2P torrenting on all of our paid plans. Depending on the laws of the country hosting the server, we might have to tunnel the connection through a P2P-friendly country. Currently, we do not provide port forwarding services.</p>
<p>8. We rely on third parties to process credit card and PayPal transactions, and we never save our users’ full credit card details. Our payment processing partners collect basic billing information to process payments and refunds, but it cannot be linked to a user’s online activity. We also accept anonymous cash or Bitcoin payments.</p>
<p>9. We only use VPN protocols that are known to be secure — either IKEv2/IPSec or OpenVPN. We encrypt our users’ traffic with AES-256, key exchange is done with 4096-bit RSA, and HMAC with SHA384 is used for message authentication. This is available for all users, including the ones on our Free plan. Plus and Visionary plan users can also use our Secure Core feature for an extra layer of security.</p>
<p>10. We currently support a Kill Switch on Windows, Android, and Mac. iOS users can use Always-on feature, as a true Kill Switch is prevented by Apple’s network-level restrictions on iOS. We operate our own DNS servers to ensure DNS leak prevention. Our servers currently support IPv4.</p>
<p>11. We never compromise on security; we only use physical servers from reputable third parties that have gone through our vetting process. Our Secure Core servers provide an extra layer of protection against any potential interference with our end servers, including by our partners. We do use our own DNS servers, which handle all our users’ DNS requests.</p>
<p>12. We currently have 380 servers in 31 countries, and we are continuously expanding our network. We only use physical servers that are located in their stated countries. We do not use any virtual servers or offer any virtual locations. A list of all our servers and their locations can be found <a href="https://protonvpn.com/vpn-servers">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://protonvpn.com/">ProtonVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="hideipvpn"></a><a href="http://www.hideipvpn.com/">HideIPVPN</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/c4783f6f.hideipvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hideipvpn.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-83070" src="media/c4783f6f.hideipvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hideipvpn.png" alt="hideipvpn" width="180" height="68"></a>1. Currently, we store no logs related to any IP addresses. There is no way for any third-party to match a user IP to any specific activity on the internet.</p>
<p>2. The registered name of the company is Server Management LLC and we operate under US jurisdiction.</p>
<p>3. A single subscription can be used simultaneously for three connections. Abuses of service usually means using non-P2P servers for torrents or DMCA notices. We use iptables plugin to block P2P traffic on servers where P2P is not explicitly allowed. We block outgoing mail on port 25 to prevent spamming activity.</p>
<p>4. We use live chat provided by tawk.to and Google Apps for incoming email. For outgoing email, we use our own SMTP server.</p>
<p>5. Since no information is stored on any of our servers, there is nothing that we can take down. We reply to the data center or copyright holder that we do not log our users&#8217; traffic and we use shared IP-addresses, which make it impossible to track who downloaded any data from the internet using our VPN.</p>
<p>6. HideIPVPN may disclose information, including but not limited to, information concerning a client, in order to comply with a court order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, statute, regulation, or governmental request. But due to the fact that we have a no-logs policy and we use shared IPs, there won’t be anything to disclose, excepting billing details. This has never happened before.</p>
<p>7. This type of traffic is welcomed on our German (DE VPN), Dutch (NL VPN), Luxembourg (LU VPN) and Lithuanian (LT VPN) servers. It is not allowed on US, UK, Canada, Poland, Singapore, Australia and French servers as stated in our TOS &#8211; the reason for this is our agreements with data centres. We do not allow port forwarding and we block ports 22 and 25 for security reasons.</p>
<p>8. Currently, HideIPVPN accepts the following methods: PayPal, Bitcoin, Credit &amp; Debit cards, JCB, American Express, Diners Club International, Discover. All our clients billing details are stored in the WHMCS billing system.</p>
<p>9. SoftEther VPN protocol looks very promising and secure. Users can currently use our VPN applications on Windows and OSX systems. Both versions have a “kill switch” feature in case connection drops. Our apps are able to re-establish VPN connection and once active restart closed applications. Also, the app has the option to enable DNS leak protection.</p>
<p>10. Yes, our free VPN apps have both features built in. We do not support Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality.</p>
<p>11. We don&#8217;t have physical control on our VPN servers. Servers are outsourced in premium data-centre with high-quality tire1 networks. Our servers are self-managed, access is restricted to our personnel only. We use Google DNS for our VPN servers and ofcourse our DNS servers for Smart DNS.</p>
<p>12. At the moment we have VPN servers located in 11 countries &#8211; US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Canada, Poland, France, Australia and Singapore. As you can see a number of available locations are <a href="https://www.hideipvpn.com/vpn-servers-location/">steadily growing</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hideipvpn.com/">HideIPVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="hideme"></a> <a href="http://hide.me">Hide.me</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/f8c10362.hideme.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hideme.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85360" src="media/f8c10362.hideme.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hideme.png" alt="hideme" width="181" height="75"></a>1. No, we don&#8217;t keep any logs. We have developed our system with an eye on our customers’ privacy, so we created a distributed VPN cluster with independent public nodes that do not store any customer data or logs at all.</p>
<p>2. Hide.me VPN is operated by eVenture Limited and based in Malaysia with no legal obligation to store any user logs at all.</p>
<p>3. We do not limit or monitor individual connections. To mitigate abuse we deploy general firewall rules on some servers that apply to specific IP ranges. By design one username can only establish one simultaneous connection.</p>
<p>4. Our landing pages which are solely used for advertising purposes include a limited amount of third-party tracking scripts, namely Google Analytics. However, no personal information that could be linked to the VPN usage is shared with these providers. We do not send information that could compromise someone’s security over email.</p>
<p>5. Since we don’t store any logs and/or host copyright infringing material on our services, we’ll reply to these notices accordingly.</p>
<p>6. It has never happened, but in such a scenario we won&#8217;t be able to entertain the court orders because our infrastructure is built in a way that it does not store any logs.</p>
<p>There is no way we could link any particular cyber activity to any particular user. In case we are forced to store user logs, we would prefer to shut down rather than putting our users at stake who have put their trust in us.</p>
<p>7. There is no effective way of blocking file-sharing traffic without monitoring our customers, which is against our principles and would even be illegal.</p>
<p>8. We support a wide range of popular payment methods, including all major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, Monero, Paypal, Credit Cards and Bank transfer.</p>
<p>All payments are handled by external payment providers and are linked to a temporary payment ID. This temporary payment ID cannot be connected to the user’s VPN account/activity. After the payment is completed, the temporary payment ID will be permanently removed from the database.</p>
<p>9. All modern VPN protocols that we all support &#8211; like IKEv2, OpenVPN, SoftEtherVPN and SSTP, are considered secure even after the NSA leaks. We follow cryptographic standards and configure our VPN servers accordingly in order to support a secure key exchange with 8192-bit key size and strong symmetric encryption (AES-256) for the data transfer.</p>
<p>10. Our users’ privacy is of utmost concern to us. Our Windows client has the features such as Kill Switch, Firewall to limit apps to VPN, Firewall to limit all connections to VPN, Split Tunnel, Auto Connect, Auto Reconnect etc which makes sure that the user is always encrypted and anonymous.</p>
<p>We have put in some additional layers of security which include default protection against IP and DNS leaks. Our Desktop apps also block outgoing IPv6 connections automatically to prevent IP leaks. Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality will be rolled out in Q2 2019.</p>
<p>11. We operate our own non-logging DNS-servers to protect our customers from DNS hijacking and similar attacks. However, we do not own physical hardware. There is&nbsp;intrusion detection and other various security measures in place to ensure the integrity and security of all our single servers.</p>
<p>Furthermore, we choose all third party hosting providers very carefully, so we can assure that there are certain security standards in place (ISO 27001) and no unauthorized person could access our servers. Among our reputable partners are Leaseweb, NFOrce, M247 and Softlayer.</p>
<p>12. Our servers are located in countries all over the world, among the most popular ones are Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. Below is the complete list of countries, alternatively you can view all available locations <a href="https://hide.me/en/network">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://hide.me">Hide.me website</a></p>
<h2><a name="ivpn"></a><a href="http://www.ivpn.net/">IVPN</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/a656cf52.ivpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ivpn.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85390" src="media/a656cf52.ivpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ivpn.png" alt="ivpn" width="150" height="69"></a>1. No. We believe that not logging VPN connection related data is fundamental to any privacy service regardless of the security or policies implemented to protect the log data.</p>
<p>2. Privatus Limited, Gibraltar.</p>
<p>3. We limit simultaneous connections by maintaining a temporary counter on a central server that is deleted when the user disconnects.</p>
<p>4. No. We made a strategic decision from day one that no company or customer data would ever be stored on third-party systems. All our internal services run on our own dedicated servers that we setup, configure and manage. No third parties have access to our servers or data.</p>
<p>We don’t host any external scripts on our website nor do we engage in advertising on Google or Facebook etc.</p>
<p>5. Our legal department sends a reply stating that we do not store content on our servers and that our VPN servers act only as a conduit for data. In addition, we inform them that we never store the IP addresses of customers connected to our network nor are we legally required to do so.</p>
<p>6. Firstly, this has never happened. However, if asked to identify a customer based on a timestamp and/or IP address then we would reply factually that we do not store this information. If legally compelled to log activity going forward we would do everything in our power to alert the relevant customers directly (or indirectly through our warrant canary).</p>
<p>7. Yes, we treat all traffic equally on all servers. Yes, we provide a port forwarding service.</p>
<p>8. We accept Bitcoin, Cash, PayPal and credit cards. When using cash there is no link to a user account within our system. When using Bitcoin, we store the Bitcoin transaction ID in our system.</p>
<p>If you wish to remain anonymous to IVPN you should take the necessary precautions when purchasing Bitcoin. When paying with PayPal or a credit card a token is stored that is used to process recurring payments but this is not linked in anyway to VPN account usage or IP-assignments.</p>
<p>9. We provide RSA-4096 / AES-256-GCM with OpenVPN, which we believe is secure enough for our customers’ requirements.</p>
<p>10. Yes, the IVPN client offers an advanced VPN firewall that blocks every type of IP leak possible including IPv6, DNS, network failures, WebRTC STUN etc. Our VPN clients work on a dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 but we currently only support IPv4 on our VPN gateways.</p>
<p>11. We use bare metal dedicated servers leased from third-party data centers in each country where we have a presence. We install each server using our own custom images and employ full disk encryption to ensure that if a server is ever seized the data is worthless.</p>
<p>We also operate an exclusive multi-hop network allowing customers to choose an entry and exit server in different jurisdictions which would make the task of legally gaining access to servers at the same time significantly more difficult. We operate our own network of log free DNS servers that are only accessible to our customers through the VPN tunnel.</p>
<p>12. Please see here. We do not offer virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ivpn.net/">IVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="azirevpn"></a><a href="https://www.azirevpn.com/">AzireVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-118357" src="media/f9db3f6b.azire-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/azire-1.png" alt="azire" width="180" height="61">1. No, we do not record or store any logs related to our services. No traffic, user activity, timestamps, IP addresses, number of active and total sessions, DNS requests, or any other kind of logs are stored. System logs are disabled.</p>
<p>2. The registered company name is Netbouncer AB and we operate under Swedish jurisdiction where there are no data retention laws that apply to VPN providers.</p>
<p>3. We took extra security steps to harden our servers. They are running using Blind Operator mode, a software module which ensures that it&#8217;s extremely difficult to set up any kind of traffic monitoring. Abuses like incoming DDoS attacks are usually mitigated with UDP filtering on the source port used by an attacker.</p>
<p>4. No, we do not rely on and refuse to use external third-party systems. We run our own email infrastructure and encourage people to use PGP encryption for reaching us. The ticketing support system, website analytics (Piwik, with anonymization settings) and other tools are hosted in-house on open-source software.</p>
<p>5. We politely inform the sender that we do not keep any logs and<br>
are unable to identify a user.</p>
<p>6. In the case that a valid court order is issued, we will inform the other party that we are unable to identify an active or former user of our service due to our particular infrastructure. In that case, they would probably force us to handover physical access to the server, which they would have to reboot to gain any kind of access due to the Blind Operator mode. Since we are running our custom system images directly into RAM, all data would be lost.</p>
<p>So far, we have never received any court order and no personal information has ever been given out.</p>
<p>7. Yes, BitTorrent, peer-to-peer and file-sharing traffic is allowed and treated equally to any other traffic on all of our servers. We do not provide port forwarding services, however, we do provide a public IPv4+IPv6 addresses mode which assigns IP addresses being used by only one user at a time the whole duration of the connection to the server.</p>
<p>In this mode, all ports are opened, with the exception of unencrypted outgoing port 25 TCP, usually used by the SMTP protocol, which is blocked to prevent abuse by spammers.</p>
<p>8. As of now, we propose a variety of payments options including anonymous methods such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Monero, Ethereum and some other cryptocurrencies (through CoinPayments) and cash money via postal mail.</p>
<p>We also offer PayPal, credit cards (VISA, MasterCard and American Express through Paymentwall) and Swish. We do not store sensitive payment information on our servers, we only retain an internal reference code for order confirmation.</p>
<p>9. We recommend our users to use our WireGuard servers, using official<br>
clients and tools available on Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, OpenWRT<br>
(routers), and soon on Windows.</p>
<p>– Data channel cipher: ChaCha20 with Poly1305 for authentication and<br>
data integrity<br>
– Authenticated key exchange: Noise Protocol Framework’s Noise_IKpsk2,<br>
using Curve25519, Blake2s, ChaCha20, and Poly1305. It uses a formally<br>
verified construction.</p>
<p>10. We offer a custom open-source VPN application called azclient&nbsp;for all major desktop platforms (Windows, macOS and Linux) and currently support OpenVPN. Its source code is released on Github under a GPLv2 license. We plan to add a kill switch and DNS leak protection features to our client in the future.</p>
<p>As we provide our users&nbsp;with a full dual stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality on all<br>
servers and VPN protocols, we do not need to provide any IPv6 leak protection. Our tunnels are natively supporting IPv6 even from IPv4 only lines, by tunneling IPv6 traffic into IPv4 transparently. Also, our WireGuard servers can be reached through both IPv4 and IPv6.</p>
<p>11. We physically own all of our hardware in all locations, including bare metal dedicated servers and switches, brought and installed on our own, co-located in closed racks on different data centers around the world meeting our strict security criteria, using dedicated network links and carefully chosen network upstream providers for maximum privacy and network quality.</p>
<p>We host our own non-logging DNS servers in different locations and provide DNSCrypt support for DNS requests encryption.</p>
<p>12. As of now, we operate across five locations including Canada, Spain,<br>
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. New locations in Oslo,<br>
Norway and Amsterdam, the Netherlands are planned soon. There are no<br>
virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.azirevpn.com/">AzireVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="windscribe"></a> <a href="https://windscribe.com/">Windscribe</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-136112" src="media/900e3207.windscribe-e1488796046663.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/windscribe-e1488796046663.png" alt="" width="180" height="61">1. We do not store a&nbsp;historical record of VPN sessions, source IPs, or sites you visited. We store a byte count of data used in the last 30 days and number of parallel connections.</p>
<p>2. Windscribe Limited, Ontario (Canada) Corporation.</p>
<p>3. We use bespoke tools specifically made for the purpose. We use the bandwidth usage in 30 days + number of parallel connections to weed out extreme cases of abuse (100+ connections and hundreds of terabytes used).</p>
<p>4. No, we self host everything. This includes email, analytics, support desk, and live chat. The only 3rd party services we use are Stripe, PayPal and CoinPayments.</p>
<p>5. We notify the sender that the IP address is a VPN node and is shared by hundreds of people at any given moment, so there is no way to trace the activity to any single user.</p>
<p>6. We have received multiple subpoenas and court orders requesting subscriber information. Our response was identical to what we send in case of a DMCA related request. We were never ordered to log users (although there were requests), but since we’re in Canada which has no mandatory data retention directives that apply to VPNs, we wouldn’t need to comply.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent is allowed in all locations as we don’t interfere with the traffic. We request that users don’t use it in India, Russia and South Africa due to more stringent providers in those regions, but it’s more of a guideline than a rule.</p>
<p>8. Credit cards (Stripe), PayPal, all major cryptocurrencies and various gift cards. As we don&#8217;t store any logs of this type, there is nothing to link the payments to.</p>
<p>9. We support OpenVPN and IKEv2. Both are equally secure as we use the strongest encryption possible (GCM-AES-256) with both. We recommend trying IKEv2 first, as it’s faster almost in all cases. If it’s blocked on your network, then you can use OpenVPN which operates on common ports and is a lot harder to block, especially when using Stealth (Stunnel) mode. Our application tries all the protocols automatically and uses the best one for your specific network.</p>
<p>10. The Windscribe Firewall is built into our Windows and Mac applications. It blocks all connectivity outside of the tunnel to ensure that there is zero chance of any kind of leak, including but not limited to DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, WebRTC leaks, etc. This is superior to a &#8220;kill switch&#8221;, which is a reactive measure, so there is no guarantee that nothing will leak.</p>
<p>11. All our servers are bare metal machines which are leased from various reputable hosting providers worldwide. We request to remove all anti-DDoS mitigations when possible to help reduce the chance of network monitoring. Each VPN node we operate has a recursive DNS server running on it, which is only accessible over the tunnel.</p>
<p>12. We have servers in <a href="https://windscribe.com/upgrade">60 countries and over 110 cities</a>. All our servers are physically where they are claimed to be, as we don’t have any fake/virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://windscribe.com/">Windscribe website</a></p>
<h2><a name="vpnarea"></a> <a href="http://vpnarea.com/">VPNArea</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-124690" src="media/8bba5ef5.vpnarea.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnarea.png" alt="vpnarea" width="180" height="59">1. We do not keep or record any logs. We are therefore not able to match an IP-address and a time stamp to a user of our service.</p>
<p>2. The registered name of our company is “Offshore Security EOOD” (spelled “ОФШОР СЕКЮРИТИ ЕООД” in Bulgarian). We’re a VAT registered business. We operate under the jurisdiction of Bulgaria.</p>
<p>3. To prevent email spam abuse we block mail ports used for such activity, but we preemptively whitelist known and legit email servers so that genuine mail users can still receive and send their emails.</p>
<p>To limit concurrent connections to 6, we use an in-house developed system that adds and subtracts +1 or -1 towards the user’s “global-live-connections-count” in a database of ours which the authentication API corresponds with anonymously each time the user disconnects or connects to a server. The process does not record any data about which servers the subtracting/detracting is coming from or any other data at any time, logging is completely disabled at the API.</p>
<p>4. We host our own email servers. We host our own Ticket Support system on our servers. The only external tools we use are Google Analytics for our website and Live Chat software by Tawk.</p>
<p>5. DMCA notices are not forwarded to our users as we’re unable to identify a responsible user due to not having any logs or data that can help us associate an individual with an account. We would reply to the DMCA notices explaining that we do not host or hold any copyrighted content ourselves and we’re not able to identify or penalize a user of our service.</p>
<p>6. This has not happened yet. Should it happen our attorney will examine the validity of the court order in accordance with our jurisdiction, we will then inform the appropriate party that we’re not able to match a user to an IP or timestamp, because we&#8217;re not keeping any logs.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent is allowed on all our servers. We offer port forwarding only on the dedicated IP private VPN servers at the moment. We will work on providing port forwarding automatically on all servers soon. The only ports which are blocked are those widely related to abuse, such as spam.</p>
<p>8. We accept PayPal, Credit/Debit cards, AliPay, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, WebMoney, GiroPay, and bank transfers. In the case of PayPal/card payments, we link usernames to the transactions so we can process a refund. We do take active steps to make sure payment details can’t be linked to account usage or IP assignments. In the case of Bitcoin, we do not link usernames to transactions.</p>
<p>9. We use AES-256-CBC + SHA256 cipher and RSA4096 keys on all our VPN servers without exception. We also have Double VPN servers, where for example the traffic goes through Russia and Israel before reaching the final destination.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we provide both KillSwitch and DNS Leak protection. We actively block IPv6 traffic to prevent IP leaks, so connections are enforced via IPv4.</p>
<p>11. We work with reliable and established data centers. Nobody but us has virtual access to our servers. The entire logs directories are wiped out and disabled, rendering possible physical brute force access to the servers useless in terms of identifying users. We use our own DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. All our servers are physically located in the stated countries. A list of our servers in 60+ countries <a href="https://vpnarea.com/front/home/servers">can be found here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://vpnarea.com/">VPNArea website</a></p>
<h2><a name="vpnbaron"></a> <a href="http://vpnbaron.com/">VPNBaron</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/3b7d62d3.vpnbaron.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/vpnbaron.png" rel="attachment wp-att-102027"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-102027" src="media/f82f2520.vpnbaron.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnbaron.png" alt="vpnbaron" width="180" height="45"></a>1. We do not keep traffic logs that match an IP address to a user.</p>
<p>2. Our registered legal name is Hexville SRL. We’re under Romanian jurisdiction, which is a member of the European Union.</p>
<p>3. Our tools are developed in-house. To limit the concurrent connections we keep track of the active connections of users. Every user has a limited number of concurrent connections, depending on his subscription. When he connects, we subtract one. When he disconnects, we add one back. Reach zero and the service will not allow the user to connect until he disconnects one of his active instances.</p>
<p>To limit the brute force types of abuses, we monitor the health of the servers and limit the network priority of the obvious DDOS that might be masked through our service. SMTP abuses will also result in temporary port blocking for that service.</p>
<p>4. Emails and the support platform are hosted in-house. For our sales site analytics, we rely on Google Analytics. Live support is hosted by tawk.to, which has a great privacy policy.</p>
<p>5. We designed our system in such a way that DMCA notices cannot be forwarded to our users. A diverse approach is needed to deal with this particular industry issue: from explaining that we don’t host any content to replacing IPs and servers that received multiple strikes.</p>
<p>6. No subpoena has been received by our company. If that happens, we’ll be sure to assist as much as we’re legally obliged.</p>
<p>7. We allow any kind of traffic, P2P included. Port forwarding is not active at this time.</p>
<p>8. We use Bitcoins (and many other kinds of virtual currencies: ETH, XRP, DGB, LTC ), PayPal, PerfectMoney and credit&nbsp;cards. The sales &amp; billing platform is stored separately from the actual VPN system, and VPN credentials are randomly generated, making it harder for them to be associated with an email address.</p>
<p>9. For mobile, we recommend IKEV2 Protocol which supports VPN-ON-DEMAND, allowing users to stay connected even when changing wifi networks or switching from wifi to data. We also support OpenVPN, with AES-256-CBC cipher, TLSv1/SSLv3 DHE-RSA-AES512-SHA, 2048 bit RSA.</p>
<p>On top of the OpenVPN, you can also choose one of the two anti DPI (Deep Package Inspection) protocols: “TOR’s OBFSPROXY Scamblesuit” and “SSL” that mask your VPN connection from your ISP. These protocols come handy in places that actively block VPN connections, like China, Egypt or university campuses.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we have an incorporated kill switch in our client as well as DNS leak protection. At the moment, only IPv4 is supported, but we do provide assistance to any user that might experience leaks.</p>
<p>11. We use our own DNS and Google DNS for some servers. Because of the nature of the industry, we consider that replacing servers and blacklisted IPs is fast as possible. The partners don’t have permission to access the servers and we’ll immediately stop the collaboration at any suspicion of snooping.</p>
<p>12. We do not offer virtual locations. We offer more than 30 servers in 18 countries and we’re expanding fast. You can find the full list <a href="https://vpnbaron.com/#locations">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://vpnbaron.com/">VPNBaron website</a></p>
<h2><a name="surfshark"></a> <a href="https://surfshark.com/">Surfshark</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-161018" src="media/dcebead5.surfs.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/surfs.png" alt="" width="180" height="61">1.&nbsp;We do not keep any logs, and thus we have no data that could be retained and attributed to a current or former user. We do not collect any IP addresses, browsing history, session information, used bandwidth, connection timestamps, network traffic, or similar data.</p>
<p>2.&nbsp;Surfshark provided by Surfshark Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).</p>
<p>3.&nbsp;We neither monitor nor log user activity on our network. Also, currently we do not limit the number of simultaneous connections. As a safeguard against abuse, such as unauthorized resellers or organizers of illicit activities which involve the use of a very large number of devices, we have implemented a Fair Usage Policy which manages inappropriate use of network and guarantees that our services can be used fairly by everyone.</p>
<p>4.&nbsp;For our operations and day-to-day business, we use the secure email system Hushmail. We do not use any of Alphabet Inc. products, except for Google Analytics, which is used to improve our website performance for potential customers. For a live 24/7 customer support and ticketing service, we use industry-standard Zendesk.</p>
<p>5. DMCA takedown notices do not apply to our service as we operate outside the jurisdiction of the United States. In case we received a non-US equivalent, we could not be of any help to authorities because of our strict no logs policy. It would simply not be possible to attribute any claims to a specific user as we have no information about any of our current or former users.</p>
<p>6.&nbsp;We have never received a court order or any logging requirement from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) authorities. If we ever received a court order from the BVI authorities, we would truthfully respond that we are unable to identify any user as we keep no logs whatsoever. If data retention laws would be enacted in the BVI, we would look for another country to register our business in.</p>
<p>For any information regarding received legal inquiries and orders we have a live Warrant canary.</p>
<p>7.&nbsp;Surfshark is a torrent-friendly service. We not only allow all file-sharing activities and P2P traffic, including BitTorrent, but also protect P2P users from any possible threats, such us tracking, surveillance, and such. We do not provide port forwarding services, and we block port 25.</p>
<p>8.&nbsp;Surfshark subscriptions can be purchased using various payment methods, including many which are only available in certain countries. As well as cryptocurrency&nbsp;we accept PayPal, Alipay and major credit cards. None of these payments can be linked to a specific user account.</p>
<p>9. For our users, we recommend using advanced IKEv2/IPsec and OpenVPN security protocols with strong and fast AES-256-GCM encryption and SHA512 signatures. The AES-256-GCM is different from a widespread AES-256-CBC as it has an inbuilt authentication which makes encryption process much faster. All our apps are based on a fast, stable, and reliable IKEv2 security protocol, including Windows app, which is a very rare case in the industry. Our Linux app is based on OpenVPN.</p>
<p>10.&nbsp;We provide ‘kill switches’ in most of our apps which also have built-in DNS leak protection. Also, Surfshark comes with a plethora of other security features, such as IP masking, IPV6 leak protection, WebRTC protection, a CleanWeb™ feature to block trackers, ads, and malware, MultiHop™ which works as double VPN, Whitelister™ for a split tunneling functionality, etc.</p>
<p>Currently, we do not support Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality, but it is in the product development roadmap.</p>
<p>11.&nbsp;We use our own DNS servers which do not keep any logs as per our Privacy Policy. All our servers are physically located in trusted third-party data centers. We always perform due diligence before choosing each of our providers to make sure they meet our security and trust requirements.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, even in the case of unanticipated snooping attempts, nobody would be able to decrypt the traffic as we encrypt it with modern AES-256-GCM encryption which has not been cracked yet.</p>
<p>12. As of March 2019, we maintain over <a href="https://support.surfshark.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003069614-Server-locations">800 servers which are physically located in 69 locations, based in 50 different countries</a>. We do not offer virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://surfshark.com/">Surfshark website</a></p>
<h2><a name="nvpn"></a><a href="https://nvpn.net/">nVpn</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-166456" src="media/80796320.nvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nvpn.png" alt="" width="180" height="70">1. We don&#8217;t store any kind of IP logs in any shape or form, neither through the available payment methods during the order, nor on the VPN servers themselves.</p>
<p>All VPN servers are set up in a way to completely avoid producing critical output in the first place, or in the very few rare cases where they do, we redirect it to &#8220;/dev/null&#8221; right away.</p>
<p>2. Technically speaking, we don&#8217;t have a company which is incorporated with our VPN business infrastructure. We operate this entire service with a group of four individual persons, who mostly reside in the Eastern European region and we,&nbsp;therefore, don&#8217;t have, need or want a company headquarter address.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a main jurisdiction under which our service operates from. For tax reasons only, we have a company structure set up in Bosnia. It is not visible in the public eye and only used behind the curtains for certain actions.</p>
<p>3. We take common counter-measures if deemed reasonable. For example, blocking certain ports like 25, 80. Or,&nbsp; if we know certain ports are the default port of RATs then we disallow such few ports from being forwarded. But seeing how a user could simply use another non-default port instead, this isn&#8217;t really so effective either. Concurrent connections are not checked.</p>
<p>If we receive an abuse complaint about an event which is literally happening right now, in realtime, then we do a quick simple check if the user is maybe assigned to a dedicated IP. If that&#8217;s the case, we go ahead and suspend this account to end the ongoing abuse.</p>
<p>4. Yes, we use Kayako ticket software for support. Apart from that, we use self and custom coded solutions within our whole infrastructure wherever possible. On the website, we use only two third-party services, that being the CAPTCHA picture provider and the support ticket software.</p>
<p>5. DMCA notices are internally treated as low ranked abuse cases which are mostly ignored where possible. For countries like the USA, we send an automated template reply to the hosting provider informing them the case has been solved. Only in very rare cases, we would even think about moving an entire shared IP group to another country where DMCA notices are ignored, like Sweden, Switzerland and the like.</p>
<p>6. The steps are identical and always the same. We reply to the requester and explain that there are no IP logs kept and that no other useful information is available which could help during the event of an investigation.</p>
<p>And yes, requests along the lines of somebody basically asking us to start logging in order to help solve a certain case, have actually happened in the past, but we did not and are not going to comply with those kinds of requests.</p>
<p>7. File-sharing is allowed on all our server locations and it&#8217;s really no issue to us. We offer a port forwarding feature. We have only one port blocked in the Firewall: 25/tcp</p>
<p>8. Non-disputable payment solutions like Bitcoin (Cryptocurrency in generally), PerfectMoney, WebMoney, Paysafecard, Amazon Giftcard, Yandex are NOT linked with the user account, because there is no reason to do this. Non-disputable payments are paid and forgotten. Contrary to that, disputable payment methods like PayPal, Skrill are linked to a user account in order to suspend the account in the case of a payment dispute.</p>
<p>This has nothing to do with IP assignments or account usage, the linking for disputable payment methods is strictly limited to the event where a payment gets disputed, so that the related account can be closed.</p>
<p>9. We would still recommend using our default OpenVPN 256 Bit AES-CBC / SHA512 solution, but on top of that, we offer even further obfuscation / hardening approaches. For example, a TLS-crypt OpenVPN config, or even combine it with Stunnel (which is available on all servers) to add a second layer of traffic obfuscation where needed/desired.</p>
<p>10. Yes, our own custom-coded client has an advanced IP kill-switch and as well a DNS leak protection for IPv4 included. Furthermore, we are currently working on a fully native IPv6 integration some point this year. Once that is completed, we will add IPv6 DNS/IP leak protection. There is no Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality available yet.</p>
<p>11. The server infrastructure for the VPN servers is operated from third-party datacenters. Even if we wanted, we can not always have full physical control of all servers all over the globe. Yes, we are from now on using our own setup DNS nameservers provided by the &#8220;Unbound&#8221; software.</p>
<p>About the snooping part, we are in fact currently working on our own implementation approach to further harden potential snooping attempts from third-parties.</p>
<p>12. At the time of writing this, we operate physically located servers in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kaliningrad, Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Swiss, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.</p>
<p>Given that some of those locations are very exotic and hard to acquire, 11 of those countries use virtual servers.</p>
<p><a href="https://nvpn.net/">nVpn website</a></p>
<h2><a name="airvpn"></a><a href="https://airvpn.org/">AirVPN</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/fb6bdebe.airvpn.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/airvpn.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85470" src="media/8e86e5a7.airvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/airvpn.png" alt="airvpn" width="180" height="48"></a>1. No, we don&#8217;t keep such logs and we do not log or inspect users&#8217; traffic data and/or metadata.</p>
<p>2. The name is AirVPN and it operates in Italy. The VPN service has been active since 2010.</p>
<p>3. Our infrastructure remains totally protocol and application agnostic. The limit of 5 concurrent connections per account is enforced through a simple integer counter to not affect in any way the customers&#8217; privacy layer.</p>
<p>4. No, we do not use any external e-mail provider or any external analytics or support tool. We do not use any tracker for any purpose, not even in our&nbsp; Android app.</p>
<p>5. They are ignored unless the takedown notice pertains to some web site hosted behind our VPN servers (thanks to our remote port forwarding system), in which case we reserve the right to investigate that web site and make a decision based on a case-by-case basis.</p>
<p>6. We will do our best to comply with legitimate orders by competent magistrates, but of course, we can&#8217;t give out information that we do not have.</p>
<p>About orders enforcing indiscriminate traffic monitoring, they can&#8217;t be satisfied by us because we do not meet the legal requirements to gather data in such a way which can be legally meaningful in a court (the chain of integrity cannot be assured), so it&#8217;s unrealistic to suppose such a scenario, which actually has never occurred in 9 years of operations.</p>
<p>7. Yes, P2P protocols are allowed on every and each Air VPN server. Our infrastructure remains protocol and application agnostic.&nbsp; The only and unique exception is our block of outbound port 25, which is anyway not a big deal except for professional spammers. We support inbound remote port forwarding, while no outbound ports (except 25) are blocked. Therefore, services behind our VPN servers, including P2P software, can receive incoming connections if the user wishes so.</p>
<p>8. We rely on PayPal, 2Checkout Avangate and CoinPayments for a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Monero and ZCash, while we process Bitcoin directly without intermediaries. Since the transaction data will be retained indefinitely (or for a very long time) by credit card companies and PayPal, we make sure to accept payments with cryptocurrencies, to offer the option to make the privacy and anonymity layers stronger and prevent any correlation between VPN usage and customers&#8217; identities.</p>
<p>Additionally, we do not require any personal data to use the service, not even an e-mail address. If a customer shares an e-mail address (essentially to receive support via e-mail) this will be protected according to the best privacy and personal data protection practices and in accordance with the GDPR. No data is ever sent to any third-party entity.</p>
<p>9. We would recommend using the latest OpenVPN version supporting tls-crypt and TLS 1.2 (as soon as OpenVPN 2.4.7 will be widespread, we will also support TLS 1.3). Preferred cipher for both the Control Channel and the Data Channel are AES-256-GCM (default settings in our service). In case an old OpenVPN version is used, we recommend AES-256-CBC with HMAC-SHA384 as MAC (default settings again in our service when used with old OpenVPN versions). The initial handshake must be protected by an RSA key, which must have at least a 2048 bit size (4096 bit in our service).</p>
<p>It is essential that on server side OpenVPN operates in &#8220;full TLS&#8221; mode to ensure Perfect Forward Secrecy. For an effective PFS, Diffie-Hellman keys must be at least 2048 bit in size, and should be unique on each server (we use per server unique 4096 bit DH keys).</p>
<p>Last but not least, as an obvious requirement for the aforementioned TLS mode that AirVPN has always employed, OpenVPN must be configured properly to ensure reciprocal authentication between client and server via certificates and keys (never with username and password alone).</p>
<p>10. Our free and open source software, available for Android, GNU/Linux, OS X, macOS and Windows, implements a &#8220;Network Lock&#8221; method to prevent traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel.</p>
<p>AirVPN supports pure IPv6, pure IPv4, and IPv6 over IPv4 connections. Optionally, our software can even block IPv6 completely (disabling IPv6 option is not available on Android for system access limitations). Users whose ISP does not provide IPv6 connectivity can access IPv6 based services through our VPN servers. DNS leaks are prevented as well.</p>
<p>11. We do not own datacenters, so our servers are all hosted in third-party datacenters, either when they are our property or they are rented. Mitigation against data snooping by datacenters is carefully applied. Mitigation includes, but is not limited to:</p>
<p>&#8211; no database is kept on the VPN servers<br>
&#8211; all logging is sent to /dev/null<br>
&#8211; everything is kept in RAM except the parts required for the bootstrap of the server<br>
&#8211; any change to the system is recorded and sent encrypted to us (and not stored on the server)<br>
&#8211; unnecessary kernel or system parts are discarded<br>
&#8211; DH keys are on the server, but they are unique per each server<br>
&#8211; IPMI is disabled or access to it is restricted to specific VPN or specific IP addresses<br>
&#8211; VPN servers do not communicate directly with backend servers: any necessary communication passes through reverse proxies, so that single datacenters can not know where the databases (client keys, certificates, etc.) are located.</p>
<p>We talk about mitigation because the main threat in this respect is simply inspecting all incoming packets and correlating them with all outgoing packets. There is no known method to ascertain for sure when such &#8220;black boxes&#8221;, external to the server, are operating, simply because they work &#8220;outside&#8221;. For such a threat model, again we recommend partition of trust and that&#8217;s also the reason for which we support Tor so strongly by running or financing a great number of relays and exit nodes.</p>
<p>12. Our servers locations, as well as a lot of additional information, are visible in our <a href="https://airvpn.org/status">real-time servers monitor here</a>. We don&#8217;t use virtual servers.</p>
<p><a href="https://airvpn.org/">AirVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="cactusvpn"></a> <a href="https://www.cactusvpn.com/">CactusVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-102343" src="media/7fbdb460.cactus.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cactus.png" alt="cactus" width="180" height="84">1.&nbsp;We don&#8217;t keep any logs.</p>
<p>2. CactusVPN Inc., Canada</p>
<p>3. We restrict our services to up to 5 devices per account for the VPN connection. Abuse of services is regulated by our Linux firewall and most of the datacenters we rent servers from provide additional security measures against server attacks.</p>
<p>4. No.</p>
<p>5. We haven&#8217;t received any official notices yet. We will only respond to local court orders.</p>
<p>6. If we receive a valid order from Canadian authorities, we have to help them identify the user. But as we do not keep any logs, we just can&#8217;t do that. We haven&#8217;t received any orders yet.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic are allowed on servers in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Romania.</p>
<p>8. PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Bitcoin &amp; Altcoins, Alipay, Qiwi, Webmoney, Boleto Bancario, Yandex Money and other less popular payment options.</p>
<p>9. We recommend users to use SoftEther with ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 cipher suite.</p>
<p>10. Yes, our apps include a Kill Switch. They also include DNS Leak protection. We only support Iv4.</p>
<p>11. We use servers from various data centers. All the VPN traffic is encrypted so the data centers cannot see the nature of the traffic, also the access on all servers is secured and no datacenter can see its configuration.</p>
<p>12. Here is our <a href="https://www.cactusvpn.com/vpn-server-locations/">overview of server locations</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cactusvpn.com/">CactusVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="trustzone"></a><a href="https://trust.zone/">Trust.Zone</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-118118" src="media/6c7f7954.trustzone.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/trustzone.jpg" alt="trustzone" width="180" height="63">1. Trust.Zone doesn’t store any logs. All we need from VPN users is an email to sign up. No first name, no last name, no personal info, no tracking, no logs.</p>
<p>2. Trust.Zone is under Seychelles jurisdiction. The company is operated by Internet Privacy Ltd.</p>
<p>3.Trust.Zone doesn&#8217;t use any third party tools on our website. The only restriction is three simultaneous connections per user.</p>
<p>4. Trust.Zone does not use any third-party support tools or tracking systems.</p>
<p>5. If we receive any type of DMCA requests or Copyright Infringement Notices – we ignore them.</p>
<p>6. A court order would not be enforceable because we do not log information and therefore there is nothing to be had from our servers.</p>
<p>Trust.Zone is a VPN provider with a Warrant Canary. Trust.Zone has not received or been subject to any searches, seizures of data or requirements to log any actions of our customers.</p>
<p>7. We don’t restrict any kind of traffic. Trust.Zone does not throttle or block any protocols, IP addresses, servers or any type of traffic whatsoever.</p>
<p>8. All major credit cards are accepted. Besides PayPal, Alipay, wire transfer and many other types of payments are available. In 2018 we have started working in partnerships with anonymous crypto like Verge, Bytecoin, Emercoin.</p>
<p>9. We use a protocol which is faster than OpenVPN and also includes Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). Trust.Zone uses AES-256 Encryption by default. We also offer L2TP over IPsec which also uses 256bit AES Encryption.</p>
<p>10. Trust.Zone supports a kill-switch function. We also own our DNS servers and provide users with using our DNS to avoid any DNS leaks. Trust.Zone has no support for IPv6 connections to avoid any leaks. We also provide users with additional recommendations to be sure that there are no DNS leaks or IP leaks.</p>
<p>11. We have a mixed infrastructure. Trust.Zone owns some physical servers and we have access to them physically. In locations with lower utilization, we normally host with third parties. But the most important point is that we use dedicated servers in this case only, with full control by our network administrators. DNS queries go through our own DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. We are operating with 177+ dedicated servers in 37 countries and are still growing. We also provide users with dedicated IP addresses if needed. The full map of the server locations is available <a href="https://trust.zone/servers">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://trust.zone/">Trust.Zone website</a></p>
<h2><a name="switchvpn"></a><a href="https://switchvpn.net/">SwitchVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-153310" src="media/c2a7cd7d.switch.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/switch.png" alt="" width="180" height="70">1. SwitchVPN does not store any logs which would allow anyone to match an IP address and a time stamp to a current or former user of our services.</p>
<p>2. The name of the company is CS SYSTEMS, INC and it operates out of the United States.</p>
<p>3. We use preventive methods to prevent abuse of our service such as SMTP blocking which would prevent any spamming from occurring.</p>
<p>4. We use Crisp Live Chat and Google Analytics but users can choose to chat with us without providing any identifying details and no personal information is stored.</p>
<p>5. SwitchVPN is transitory digital network communications as per 17 U.S.C § 512(a) of the Copyright Act. So in order to protect the privacy of our users we use shared IP addresses, which makes it impossible to pinpoint any specific user. If the copyright holder only provides us with an IP address as identifying information, then it is impossible for us to associate a DMCA notice with any of our users.</p>
<p>6. There have been no court orders since we started our operation in 2010, and as we do not log our users&#8217; sessions and we utilize shared IP addresses, it is not possible to identify any user solely based on timestamps or IP addresses.</p>
<p>Currently, there is no mandatory data logging in the United States but in-case the situation changes, we will migrate our company to another privacy friendly jurisdiction.</p>
<p>7. Yes, all torrent traffic is allowed on all of our servers, however, we have a special list of servers which provides a port forwarding option which will give people a better experience while torrenting. No ports are blocked.</p>
<p>8. We accept Credit Card, PayPal, Bitcoin, and Paymentwall. SwitchVPN assigns all of its users random login details instead of email and password. Which makes it more anonymous while using our service.</p>
<p>9. By default, our application uses the highest encryption settings in OpenVPN with AES-256-GCM.</p>
<p>10. Yes, our application comes with built-in Kill Switch in case of any drops and SwitchVPN also uses its private DNS to anonymize all DNS requests. It also comes with DNS leak protection and it has passed all the tests by major reviewers. Currently, we do not offer Dual Stack IPv6 Functionality but it will be implemented very soon.</p>
<p>11. Before we get into agreement with any third party, we make sure the company does not have any poor history for privacy and we make sure the company is in-line with our privacy requirements for providing our users with a no log VPN service. We also use our own DNS servers to anonymize all DNS requests.</p>
<p>12. All our <a href="https://switchvpn.net/features">servers</a> are physically located in the countries we have mentioned, we do not use virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://switchvpn.net/">SwitchVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="vyprvpn"></a><a href="https://www.vyprvpn.com/">VyprVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-168130" src="media/757bc112.vyprvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vyprvpn.png" alt="" width="180" height="71">1. At VyprVPN we do not log any usage data from our VPN service, and we are unable to match an IP-address and a time stamp to a specific user.</p>
<p>2. Golden Frog, GmbH – Meggen, Switzerland. We have operated under the jurisdiction of Swiss law since 2014.</p>
<p>3. Our proprietary server software checks open VPN connections to the servers so we can enforce concurrent connection limitations. This state information is not logged. Once the connection closes the state information is gone. We also block port 25 (SMTP) outbound on our edge routers to mitigate the use of our service to send SPAM.</p>
<p>4. We use a couple of different platforms, namely Zendesk for support tickets and SnapEngage for live chat support. We also utilize Silverpop and MailChimp as our email platforms to communicate with customers. Our customers, of course, keep the option to opt out of our email program if they’re not interested. We only share account information, such as email address, with our providers; and have a strict no log policy that prevents us from obtaining or sharing any customer VPN usage data internally or externally.</p>
<p>5. To increase the privacy for our users, we do not log the IP address used by any user. If we receive a DMCA notice that relies on IP address and a time stamp as identifying information, it is not technically possible for us to associate a DMCA notice with any of our users with this information.</p>
<p>6. We cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies. In the past, we have always requested a subpoena before providing a member&#8217;s identifying information &#8211; minimal information reasonably calculated to identify and no more.</p>
<p>We only record personal data that is associated with a user&#8217;s account which can include name, email address, phone number, payment information and/or physical address. We do not retain any data associated with the VPN service usage. Although we have never been asked by law enforcement to log additional user activity, we would seek the protection of strong Swiss privacy laws to vigorously fight such an attempt.</p>
<p>7. We do not discriminate against devices, protocols, or application. All traffic is allowed on our network at any of our VPN servers across the world, including BitTorrent.</p>
<p>Once a customer is connected to our service they are provided with a public IP address that allows all ports inbound to them. Outbound traffic is open as well with the exception of port 25. We block 25 outbound to prevent the abusive use of our service for sending spam.</p>
<p>8. We never store credit card information or other potentially vulnerable payment information for any of our customers. We utilize well known, industry standard, payment processors to protect this information. And since we are a No Log VPN service we cannot link any individual’s account usage or IP-assignments to our customers.</p>
<p>9. For the most private experience, we recommend that our users try our proprietary Chameleon VPN Protocol in tandem with VyprDNS, our No Log DNS service.</p>
<p>10. Absolutely, we understand the need to protect people on insecure networks or living under censorship restrictions. VyprVPN includes a Kill Switch feature that is available on our Mac, Windows, and Android apps. DNS Leak Protection is included with all our desktop and mobile applications. VyprVPN also offer users access to our No Log DNS service, VyprDNS, to further protect DNS requests. We currently only run IPv4.</p>
<p>11. We own, engineer and manage our VPN servers and network so we can deliver fast and reliable connections and remain independent from any third parties. Along with owning 100% of the physical hardware to operate VyprVPN, we also own and operate our own DNS solution – VyprDNS.</p>
<p>12. We do have some virtual locations and we allow VyprVPN users to utilize more than 200,000 IP addresses. We maintain and operate more than 700 servers scattered across more than 70 different countries. We have virtual locations in our own physical data centers across the globe.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vyprvpn.com/">VyprVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="proxysh"></a><a href="https://proxy.sh/">Proxy.sh</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-66630" src="media/485b170e.proxy.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/proxy.png" alt="proxy" width="185" height="60">1. We do not keep any logs at all.</p>
<p>2. Three Monkeys International Inc., registered in Seychelles.</p>
<p>3. There&#8217;s no limit aside from three active auth sessions per membership. We use Wireshark and TCPdump once every while, to block problematic flows of traffic (such as DNS amplification), and we are one of the rare VPN providers to always inform our members before doing so.</p>
<p>4. No, everything runs in-house.</p>
<p>5. We publish a public report (itself recorded at the Lumen Clearinghouse), and we state to the reporter that beyond blocking the port there is nothing we can do.</p>
<p>6. We publish orders and requests to the public before undertaking any action. We will never actively monitor our users following the lessons we learned from the EFF and others. We can only give access to our servers to competent authorities while ensuring to keep our users updated about such a move, either through a direct notice or our warrant canary. So far, we modified our warrant canary once about a server in France that we later dropped from our network.</p>
<p>7. We do not discriminate any traffic activity so BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic are allowed. We provide port forwarding services, and we only block ports that generate abuse for third-parties.</p>
<p>8. We use PayPal, G2A, Paymentwall, and CoinPayments. All four combined lets us process pretty much any kind of payment method ranging from credit card to cryptocurrencies.</p>
<p>9. We have an advanced TLScrypt curved coupled with Serpent that we are experimenting with. Alternatively, we recommend TOR’s “obfs4” obfuscation along with our standard AES-256 + RSA4096 + SHA512 (with Perfect Forward Secrecy) that alone matches the industry’s finest standards. We provide a variety of protocols (ECC, SoftEther-based, XOR, etc.) to match the tastes and expectations of everyone.</p>
<p>10. We provide kill switches directly inside our VPN client, and we also have detailed tutorials on implementing custom kill switches. Our network forbids any public IPv6 and provides dual stack technology to let users connect to the IPv6 network using private methods as with IPv4.</p>
<p>11. We use our custom DNSCrypt servers, and all our equipment is running from encrypted RAM-based processes. Most of our servers are bare-back with own hardware. And for exotic locations where we rent from third parties, we ensure to kill off any KVM access, so our setup runs from a unique, auto-starting image.</p>
<p>12. We operate servers in more than <a href="https://proxy.sh/network">50 countries</a>, and we only provide real physical locations. We do not use virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="http://proxy.sh">Proxy.sh website</a></p>
<h2><a name="privatevpn"></a></h2>
<h2><a href="https://privatevpn.com/">PrivateVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169964" src="media/992fcfd5.privatevpn-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/privatevpn-1.png" alt="" width="202" height="56" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/privatevpn-1.png 202w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/privatevpn-1-200x56.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px">1. We don’t log any user-identifying information. Metadata or identifiers namely IP addresses, timestamps or any sort of connections on our VPN or authentication servers. The speed of connections&nbsp;are not logged or retained at all. Period.</p>
<p>That being so, the total amount of data used is kept for a month solely for the limited purpose of preventing trial abuse duly stated in our money-back guarantee as well.</p>
<p>2. PrivateVPN is run by a Swedish company viz. ‘Privat Kommunikation Sverige AB’ under Swedish jurisdiction</p>
<p>3. The nature of our VPN service makes it practically impossible for us to do any sort of live monitoring at all.</p>
<p>4. We use a service known as LiveAgent to provide email or ticket and live chat support. They do not hold any information about chat sessions. Chat conversation transcripts are not stored on chat servers. They remain on the chat server for the duration of the chat session, then optionally sent by email to a user, and then destroyed.</p>
<p>5. DMCA is not applicable to our service as it is not a codified law or act under Swedish jurisdiction. So, it is none of our business. A Swedish equivalent isn’t in the scene as of now in our jurisdiction at all.</p>
<p>6. As already mentioned above, we don’t retain or log any identifiers at all. So, basically even when ordered to actively investigate a user we are limited to the number of active logins which is just a numerical value. That being said, we have not received a court order to date.</p>
<p>7. Of course, P2P is allowed on all our servers as a matter of policy. Port forwarding is readily available on all the platforms. Moreover, Dynamic Dedicated IP with all ports open (which you are allotted from a block of IPs we have dynamically when you are connected, this IP is a dedicated IP and when allotted to you, no one else in the world but you are uniquely using it.) are also available. Dynamic dedicated IPs are offered in multiple locations (not all as of now) with OpenVPN-TUN-UDP/1194 connection type only.</p>
<p>8. We support PayPal, Stripe, and Bitcoin. Alipay as a payment method is en route. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and in order to enforce it, we keep a track of payments linked to a user account. There is no way to link an IP address assigned from us to a user account as we do not log such data.</p>
<p>9. No single VPN protocol works for everyone. We support multiple VPN protocols viz. PPTP, L2TP, IPsec, IKEv2, OpenVPN and Wireguard(beta). Our default VPN protocol on all the platforms is OpenVPN over UDP with 256-bit security for both data and TLS control channel encryption.</p>
<p>We recommend a user with an ideal ISP to use OpenVPN over UDP/1194. In case your ISP happens to throttle default OpenVPN port 1194, you can use OpenVPN over TCP/443, which is deployed with the latest –tls-crypt that OpenVPN offers for additional privacy and very basic obfuscation of the protocol itself.</p>
<p>For users who love built-in VPN clients for an OS, like Windows, Mac, Blackberry, iOS etc, we recommend IKEv2. For users from UAE, Egypt, some parts of China etc, we are offering and actively improving secure Stealth VPN technology to tunnel a client&#8217;s VPN traffic for users from Egypt, UAE, China etc. For Tor lovers, we offer a guide, help, instructions on how to connect to our OpenVPN servers over Tor for additional security and privacy.</p>
<p>For speed and comparatively low latency, state-of-the-art Wireguard server is recommended.</p>
<p>10. Our Windows VPN App offers robust Kill switch and DNS leak protection. DNS leaks on any major platform are owing to broken installations which are fixed as soon we see a report or any issues. IPv6 leak protection is available on every platform and multiple VPN protocols. We offer guides and instructions to set up a kill switch on macOS, GNU/Linux, BSD etc and are rapidly working with our developers to add these features in our easy to use and install VPN applications.</p>
<p>As of now, no Dual stack VPN is available, unfortunately.</p>
<p>11. We have physical control over our servers and network in Sweden. We’re only using trusted data centers with strong security. Our providers have no access to PrivateVPN’s servers and most importantly, there is no customer data/activities stored on the VPN servers or on any other system we have.</p>
<p>12. We use a mix of physical and virtual <a href="https://privatevpn.com/why-privatevpn/server-locations">servers</a> depending on the demand and needs of a given location. Virtual servers are categorized in our server list on our website to avoid confusion and maintain transparency.</p>
<p><a href="https://privatevpn.com/">PrivateVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="fvpn"></a><a href="https://fastestvpn.com/">FastestVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-159620" src="media/cfce8d24.fvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fvpn.png" alt="" width="180" height="74">1. No, FastestVPN does not record any logs. Your internet activity such as your browser history, traffic destinations, DNS queries, downloads and uploads, and the websites you visit all stay with you.</p>
<p>2. FastestVPN is incorporated under the name Fast Technology Limited. It operates out of the Cayman Islands and under its jurisdiction.</p>
<p>3. We use an in-house developed tool to limit the maximum number of connections to 10 devices. It is used for this purpose and this only.</p>
<p>4. We use Google Analytics and Hotjar to improve our service and make our website more user-friendly. We also use a live-chat tool called Tawk.to for the purpose of providing 24/7 support to customers.</p>
<p>5. Because we operate under the jurisdiction of Cayman Islands, the DMCA has no authority or influence on us. Therefore, we are not required to comply with such notices.</p>
<p>6. Although such an event has not occurred, we may comply in the event a Cayman Islands Court orders us to provide information on a user’s activity. But because we do not log any activity, the information we provide cannot help identify any of our customers.</p>
<p>7. Our servers are optimized for P2P and allow BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic. We suggest users to connect to our European servers for the best speed.</p>
<p>8. We provide our customers with the option to pay with Credit Card, eWallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Visa Checkout, MasterPass etc), AliPlay, and other payment methods such as Skrill, Webmoney etc. It is handled by the payment processor which requires only basic billing information for payment processing and refund requests. The details can’t be linked to any particular customer.</p>
<p>9. We recommend the use of the OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols for better security. We use multiple security protocols coupled with AES 256-bit encryption.</p>
<p>10. We do provide Kill Switch and DNS leak protection features.</p>
<p>11. We rely on both owned and outsourced servers. We maintain exclusive rights to our servers that are physically located across various countries worldwide. We use our own DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. All of our servers are physically located in various countries worldwide. We currently have servers in 23 countries. You can check the full list of locations <a href="https://fastestvpn.com/server-locations">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://fastestvpn.com/">FastestVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="cryptostorm"></a><a href="https://cryptostorm.is/">CryptoStorm</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169856" src="media/2860b2de.cslogo-fortorrentfreak.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cslogo-fortorrentfreak.png" alt="" width="180" height="29">1. No, none of our logs contain any data that can be used to match an IP or time stamp with a user.</p>
<p>2. Cryptostorm consists of several different entities that are in different regions. This is so if an adversary were to put legal pressure on one of those entities, we can simply drop and replace it, along with any resources that might be under it. The names and locations of these entities are not publicly disclosed, simply to make it more difficult for any potential adversaries.</p>
<p>3. Abuse is mitigated by using Snort&#8217;s NFQ DAQ as an Intrusion Prevention System. This allows us to block the most basic or automated attacks/scans that would violate the Terms of Service at most data centers. Snort is used directly against the tunnel interface, which means any alerts generated would only include the internal 10.x.x.x VPN IP, which is randomly generated. No customer IPs ever show up in those Snort alerts.</p>
<p>4. No, email/support is done in-house on our own servers.</p>
<p>5. Most of the data centers we’ve chosen aren’t legally required to do anything about DMCA notices or similar complaints. Currently, the only exceptions are one of our Dutch data centers and the London one, which both require a response from us. For them, we use a template <a href="https://www.torproject.org/eff/tor-dmca-response.html">very similar to this</a>.</p>
<p>If an ISP, data center, or anyone else were to request customer information related to a DMCA complaint, we wouldn’t be able to provide anything since we don’t have anything. If a data center threatens to suspend our server if we don’t provide something more useful, we would simply stop doing business with that data center.</p>
<p>6.&nbsp; We wouldn’t be able to comply with any court order requesting customer information since we don’t have any information to give. If a court successfully ordered one of our entities to start collecting customer information, we would absolve any entities in that court’s region.</p>
<p>As of March 2019, we have never received any such court orders. If any “gag orders” were successful, our <a href="https://cryptostorm.is/canary.txt">warrant canary</a> would inform customers of its existence.</p>
<p>7. Yes, BitTorrent etc. is allowed. We also provide port forwarding. The only ports blocked at the moment are blocked for security reasons: ports 135, 139, and 445 which could be used to deanonymize a Windows customer using one of the many NetBIOS/SMB vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>8. Credit/debit card payments are accepted via PayPal and CCBill. Bitcoin is accepted through BitPay. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, BlackCoin, CloakCoin, Dash, Decred, DigiByte, Dogecoin, Ether Classic, Ether, Expanse, GameCredits, Komodo, LISK, Namecoin, PotCoin, Peercoin, Qtum, Stratis, Syscoin, Vertcoin, VERGE, ZCash, ZenCash, and TetherUSD are accepted through CoinPayments.net.</p>
<p>Our anonymous token authentication system plus our no-logging policy prevents us from knowing which customers are connected to which server, or what traffic they’re generating on that server.</p>
<p>9. Our most secure OpenVPN instances use: AES-256-GCM to encrypt the data channel; TLS-ECDHE-ECDSA-WITH-CHACHA20-POLY1305-SHA256 for the control channel, forced to at least TLSv1.2 to prevent downgrade attacks, with support for TLSv1.3; 521-bit secp521r1 ECC server/CA certificates (~15360-bit RSA), signed with ecdsa-with-SHA512; A 2048-bit static key for additional encrypting/authenticating of control channel packets via -tls-crypt.</p>
<p>Perfect Forward Secrecy is implemented in all of the above using ephemeral keys or unique DH parameters, with key renegotiation every 20 minutes.</p>
<p>10. For Windows users, our open-source VPN client includes a kill switch and DNS/IPv6 leak protection. For every other OS, we offer firewall rule sets for iptables, ufw, pf, etc. that will accomplish the same. Only IPv4 is supported at the moment, so instructions for blocking or disabling IPv6 are provided.</p>
<p>11.&nbsp;To account for the possibility of physical compromise (i.e., a confiscated server), each server is designed to be as disposable as possible. No data on the servers can be used to identify a customer, nor can it be used to gain access to any other server.</p>
<p>We also do secure PKI management, which means the CA private key is never stored on the VPN server, and each server gets its own unique server certificate/key pair.</p>
<p>Although our data centers aren&#8217;t known to actively monitor customers, we assume that they are, or can if requested. That&#8217;s why we use cryptography that&#8217;s probably unbreakable, which means the most any snooper can see is encrypted traffic coming in, but because of other users on the server, they won&#8217;t be able to correlate incoming and outgoing traffic.</p>
<p>We use our own DNS servers, as well as DNSCrypt to encrypt a client&#8217;s DNS before they connect to the VPN. We also offer an optional DNS-based ad/tracker blocking service. All of our DNS and DNSCrypt servers are publicly available, which means you don&#8217;t have to be a customer of ours to use them.</p>
<p>12. Our current country/server list is <a href="https://cryptostorm.is/uptime">available here</a>. We do not use VPS/VMs for our VPN servers. Only bare metal dedicated servers.</p>
<p><a href="https://cryptostorm.is/">CryptoStorm website</a></p>
<h2><a name="whatheserver"></a><a href="http://whattheserver.me/">WhatTheServer</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135970" src="media/420c367c.whatheserver-e1488473253988.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/whatheserver-e1488473253988.png" alt="" width="180" height="60">1. We do not maintain any logs that would allow us to identify a user.</p>
<p>2. What The * Services, LLC is incorporated in the USA.</p>
<p>3. All limiting is done by active sessions to prevent one person from sharing an account with hundreds of people. We use a custom session management system which operates completely on real-time data and keeps no logs.</p>
<p>4. We run all of our own communications infrastructure. No analytics software is used currently.</p>
<p>5. We send out <a href="/images/whatthe.txt">the following response</a> as we have no logs.</p>
<p>6.&nbsp; We have only had one of these requests for a VPS client.&nbsp;The customer&#8217;s identity was never revealed to the people making the DMCA take-down request and subpoena, because the bill was paid in Bitcoin &amp; throwaway email account was used.</p>
<p>If this happens again in the future, we will take several steps. First, we would consult with our lawyers to confirm the validity of the order/subpoena, and respond accordingly if it is NOT a valid order/subpoena. Then we would alert our user of the event in the event we are legally able to.</p>
<p>If the order/subpoena is valid, we would see if we have the ability to provide the information requested, and respond accordingly if we do NOT have the information requested. If we DO have the information requested, we would immediately reconfigure our systems to stop keeping that information. Then we would consult with our lawyer to determine if there is any way we can fight the order/subpoena and/or what is the minimum level of compliance we must meet, and notify the user of the event if we are legally able to do so.</p>
<p>If we were forced to start keeping logs on our users, we would go out of business and start a new company in a different jurisdiction.</p>
<p>7.&nbsp;We do allow file sharing on our network. We do ask people to use the EU nodes for file sharing. We have no way to enforce that, but it helps to prevent the USA based nodes from complaints and shutdown from overzealous copyright trolls. We do offer port forwarding plans with our Perfect Dark Plans. We do not block any ports.</p>
<p>8.&nbsp; We accept PayPal and cryptocurrency. As always, anyone can open an account anonymously with a wide variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), LiteCoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), and many more CryptoCurrencies and AltCoins via CoinPayments.net.</p>
<p>All that is required is a working email for signup. Signups via Tor or proxies are highly encouraged along with placeholder information if paying in cryptocurrency. We also use a completely different authentication infrastructure and random usernames for the VPN accounts.</p>
<p>9.&nbsp;We recommend OpenVPN and our VPN has Perfect Forward Secrecy setup with ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 for all our VPN servers. This is based on Softether and Ubuntu which allows people to use any protocols their devices supports.</p>
<p>10.&nbsp;Our VPN profiles are compatible with Qomui (Qt OpenVPN Management UI) and others which have this built into the opensource VPN client. We push custom adblocking DNS to clients. We also have ‘push “block-outside-dns”’ in our OpenVPN server config files which will prevent the client from leaking DNS requests. Additionally, we include “resolve-retry infinite” and “persist-tun” in the OpenVPN client config files which will prevent the client from sending data in the clear if the VPN connection goes down.</p>
<p>11.&nbsp;All of our infrastructure is hosted in 3rd party colocations. However,<br>
we use full-disk-encryption on all of our servers.</p>
<p>12. We offer <a href="https://whattheserver.com/vpn-service/">VPN server locations</a> in AU, US, FR, DE, NL, UK, HK, JP. We do offer virtual locations upon request.</p>
<p><a href="http://whattheserver.me/">WhatTheServer website</a></p>
<h2><a name="ibvpn"></a> <a href="http://www.ibvpn.com/">ibVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-102028" src="media/3382efee.ibvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ibvpn.png" alt="ibvpn" width="180" height="68">1. We do not keep ANY logs that can identify a user of our service with an IP address and/or a timestamp.</p>
<p>2. The company&#8217;s registered name is Amplusnet SRL. We are a Romanian company, which means we are under EU jurisdiction. In Romania, there are no mandatory data retention requirements.</p>
<p>3. We limit the number of concurrent connections and we are using Radius for this purpose.</p>
<p>4. The back end of the website is a dedicated WHMCS for billing and support tickets. We do not use external e-mail providers (we host our own mail server). Our users can contact us via live chat (Zopim). The chat activity logs are deleted on a daily basis. There is no way to associate any information provided via live chat with the users’ account.</p>
<p>5. So far we did not receive any DMCA notice for any P2P server from our server list. That is normal considering that the servers are located in DMCA free zones. For the rest of the servers, P2P and file sharing activities are not allowed/supported.</p>
<p>6. So far, we have not received a court order. We do not support criminal activities, and in case of a valid court order, we must follow the EU laws under which we operate.</p>
<p>7. We have dedicated P2P servers that allow BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic. The servers are located in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Sweden, Russia, Hong Kong, and Lithuania. We do not provide port forwarding. We are blocking the SMTP ports 25 and 465 to avoid spam from our servers.</p>
<p>8. Payments are performed exclusively by third-party processors, thus no credit card info, PayPal ids or other identifying info are stored in our database. For those who would like to keep a low profile, we accept BitCoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum, WebMoney, Perfect Money etc.</p>
<p>9. We support SSTP and SoftEther on most of the servers. We also offer double VPN and TOR over VPN.</p>
<p>10. Yes, a Kill Switch and DNS leak protection are implemented in our VPN Clients. Our users can decide to block all the traffic when the VPN connection drops or to kill a list of applications. We allow customers to disable IPv6 Traffic and to make sure that only our DNS servers are used while connected to the VPN.</p>
<p>Also, we support SOCKS5 on our P2P servers which can be used for downloading torrents and does not leak any data if the connection to SOCKS5 proxy drops.</p>
<p>11. We do not have physical control over our VPN servers. We have full remote control to all servers. Admin access to servers is not provided for any third party.</p>
<p>12. The full list of server locations is <a href="https://www.ibvpn.com/product/server-list/">available here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ibvpn.com/">ibVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="mullvad"></a><a href="http://mullvad.net/en">Mullvad</a></h2>
<p><a href="media/032a295b.mullvad.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mullvad.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-41059" title="mullvad" src="media/032a295b.mullvad.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mullvad.jpg" alt="VPN review" width="180" height="37"></a>1. No, all details are explained in our no-logging data policy.</p>
<p>2. Amagicom AB, Swedish.</p>
<p>3. We mitigate abuse by blocking the use of ports 25, 137–139, and 445 due to email spam and Windows security issues.</p>
<p>When a customer connects to a VPN server, the server asks the central service to validate the account number, whether or not the account has any remaining time, if the account has reached its allowed number of connections, and so on. Everything is performed in temporary memory only; none of this information is permanently stored to disk.</p>
<p>Our VPN servers send three types of data to our monitoring system: total number of current connections, CPU load per core, and total bandwidth used per server. We log the total sum of each of these statistics in order to monitor the health of each individual VPN server. We ensure that the system isn&#8217;t overloaded, and we monitor the servers for potential attacks, bugs, and network issues.</p>
<p>4. We have no external elements on our website. We do use an external email provider. We encourage those who want to email us to use PGP encryption, which is the only effective way to keep email somewhat private. The decrypted content is only available to us.</p>
<p>5. There is no such Swedish law that is applicable to us.</p>
<p>6. From time to time, we are contacted by governments asking us to divulge information about our customers. Given that we don&#8217;t store activity logs of any kind, we have no information to give out.</p>
<p>Worst-case scenario: we would discontinue the servers in the affected countries. The only information AT ALL POSSIBLE for us to give out is records of payments since these are stored at PayPal, banks etc. This, however, does not prove anything more than you made a payment to us.</p>
<p>7. All traffic is treated equally, therefore we do not block or throttle BitTorrent or other file-sharing protocols. Port forwarding is allowed. Ports 25, 137–139, and 445 are blocked due to email spam and Windows security issues.</p>
<p>8. We accept cash, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, bank wire, credit card, PayPal, and Swish. We encourage anonymous payments via cash or one of the cryptocurrencies. We run our own full node in each of the blockchains and do not use third parties for any step in the payment process, from the generation of QR codes to adding time to accounts.</p>
<p>9. We offer OpenVPN with RSA-4096 and AES-256-GCM. And we also offer WireGuard which uses Curve25519 and ChaCha20-Poly1305. We also offer an experimental post-quantum secure VPN tunnel using WireGuard and NewHope.</p>
<p>10. We offer a kill switch and DNS leak protection, both of which are supported in IPv6 as IPv4. While the kill switch is only available via our client/app, we also provide a SOCKS5 proxy that works as a kill switch and is only accessible through our VPN.</p>
<p>11. At 8 locations – 3 in Sweden, 1 in Amsterdam, 1 in Norway, 1 in the UK, 1 in Finland, 1 in Germany– we own and have physical control over all of our servers. In our other locations, we rent physical, dedicated servers (which are not shared with other companies) and bandwidth from carefully selected providers.</p>
<p>We use our own DNS servers. All DNS traffic that&#8217;s routed via our tunnel is hijacked. Even if you set accidentally select another DNS, our DNS will be used. Except if you have set up DNS over HTTPS or DNS over TLS.</p>
<p>12. We don&#8217;t have virtual locations. All locations are listed&nbsp;<a href="https://mullvad.net/servers">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://mullvad.net/en">Mullvad website</a></p>
<h2><a name="acevpn"></a> <a href="https://acevpn.com/">AceVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-102037" src="media/fbda25d2.ace.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ace.png" alt="ace" width="180" height="63">1. We do not log period. No meta-data logging, no traffic logging, no bandwidth usage tracking. We do not store any personal or billing information on VPN servers. IPs are shared amongst users and our configuration makes it extremely difficult to single out any user.</p>
<p>2. We are registered in the USA and operate as AceVPN.com</p>
<p>3. We have developed in-house tools to mitigate abuse.</p>
<p>4. We use Google Analytics on www.acevpn.com (marketing web site). We do not track proxied pages. We use G Suite for email. Emails are deleted regularly.</p>
<p>5. If we receive a DMCA takedown, we block the port mentioned in the complaint. IPs are shared by other users and our configuration makes it extremely difficult to single out any user. We do not share any information with third parties.</p>
<p>6. To date, we have not received a court order. We only store billing information which the payment processor or bank or credit card issuer has.</p>
<p>7. We have special servers for P2P and are in datacenters that allow such traffic. These servers also have additional security to protect privacy when P2P programs are running. We do not offer port forwarding.</p>
<p>8. We accept PayPal, Bitcoin and credit cards for payments. We store billing information on a secure server separate from VPN servers and do not track usage nor IP assignments.</p>
<p>9. Our IKEv2 and OpenVPN offer Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) which<br>
we recommend for secure connectivity. To give an idea, 384 bits ECDSA is equivalent to RSA 7680 bits. Higher the bits, the more secure it gets. We just completed a network upgrade and dropped all insecure algorithms.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we do provide kill switches if a connection drops. Our servers are tested for DNS leaks. We are an IPv4 only service.</p>
<p>11. We have full control over our servers. Servers are housed in reputed<br>
datacenters. Many of them are ISO certified and are designed to the highest specifications for performance, reliability and security. We operate our own DNS servers (Smart DNS) for streaming videos.</p>
<p>For VPN, we use Cloudflare, Google, OpenDNS and Level3 DNS.</p>
<p>12. All our locations are physical, meaning servers are physically located in these locations. We have servers in 26+ countries and over 50+ locations / datacenters. USA, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and South Africa.</p>
<p><a href="https://acevpn.com/">AceVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="perfectprivacy"></a><a href="https://www.perfect-privacy.com/">Perfect Privacy</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-92195" src="media/d6caff16.pplogovpn.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pplogovpn.jpg" alt="pplogovpn" width="178" height="178" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pplogovpn.jpg 178w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/pplogovpn-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px">1. Perfect Privacy does not log or store any traffic, IP addresses or any other kind of data that would allow identification of our users or their activities.</p>
<p>2. Perfect Privacy is operated by Vectura Datamanagement, registered in Zug, Switzerland.</p>
<p>3. We don&#8217;t keep track of the number of VPN connections per user and are unable to limit it. In case of malicious activity towards specific targets, we block IP addresses or ranges, so they are not accessible from our VPN servers.</p>
<p>Additionally, we have limits on new outgoing connections for protocols like SSH, IMAP, and SMTP to prevent automated spam and brute force attacks. We do not use any other tools.</p>
<p>4. We develop and host all email and support tools in-house where it is under our control. We use Google Analytics for website optimization and better market reach, but with the anonymizeIp parameter set. However, Perfect Privacy users are exempted from any tracking by Google Analytics<br>
and are also able to use our TrackStop filter which will block any tracking (as well as ads and known malware domains) directly on our servers.</p>
<p>5. Because we do not host any data, DMCA notices do not directly affect us. However, we do receive copyright violation notices for file-sharing in which case we truthfully reply that we have no data that would allow us to identify the responsible party.</p>
<p>6. If we receive a Swiss court order, we are forced to provide the data that we have. Since we don&#8217;t log any IP addresses, timestamps or other connection-related data, the only step on our side is to inform the inquiring party that we do not have any data that would allow the identification of a user based on that data.</p>
<p>Should we ever receive a legally valid court order that requires us to log activity for a user going forward, we&#8217;d rather shut down the servers in the country concerned than compromising our user&#8217;s privacy.</p>
<p>There have been incidents in the past where Perfect Privacy servers have been seized, but no user information was compromised that way. Since no logs are stored in the first place and additionally all our services are running within RAM disks, a server seizure will never compromise our customers. Although we are not subject to US-based laws, there&#8217;s a warrant canary page available.</p>
<p>7. Perfect Privacy users are allowed to use BitTorrent and other file-sharing tools. P2P traffic is treated equally to other traffic. However, at specific locations that are known to treat copyright violations rather harshly (very quick termination of servers), we block the most popular torrent trackers to reduce the impact of this problem. Currently, this is the case for servers located in the United States and France. Perfect Privacy users can use port forwarding.</p>
<p>8. We offer a variety of payment options ranging from anonymous methods<br>
such as sending cash, or Bitcoin. We also offer PayPal and credit cards for users who prefer these options. Because we do not monitor or log IP assignments or account usage, there is no link to the payments.</p>
<p>9. Generally, we recommend using OpenVPN with 256-bit AES-GCM encryption on desktop computers. On mobile platforms, we recommend IPSec/IKEv2 with 256-bit AES-GCM encryption, a SHA2-512 integrity algorithm and Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) enabled using a CURVE25519 or ECP512 elliptic curve algorithm.</p>
<p>10. Our VPN apps for Windows and macOS both have a so-called kill switch<br>
built in, which is advanced firewall protection against IP and DNS leaks. On Android and iOS, you can use the system-integrated On-Demand or Always-on features which are also often called a kill switch.</p>
<p>Perfect Privacy fully supports Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 functionality. On the vast majority of the servers, users get both a public IPv4 and a public IPv6<br>
address. Of course, the kill switches support IPv6, so there&#8217;s no need to disable IPv6.</p>
<p>11. All our VPN servers are dedicated bare-metal servers that run in various data centers around the world. While we have no physical access to the servers, they all are running within RAM disks only and are fully encrypted. Additional security can be established by using a cascaded multi-hop connection over up to four hops.</p>
<p>With NeuroRouting enabled, user&#8217;s traffic is brought as close as possible to the destination within the fully encrypted VPN network. That way, the traffic is only exposed to the internet where it is unavoidable. We operate our own DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. Currently, we offer servers in 24 countries worldwide. All servers are located in the city displayed in the hostname – there are no virtual or fake locations. For full details about all servers locations, please check our <a href="https://www.perfect-privacy.com/serverstatus/">server status site</a> as we are constantly adding new servers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.perfect-privacy.com/">Perfect Privacy website</a></p>
<h2><a name="vpnland"></a><a href="https://www.vpnland.com/">VPN Land</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-136034" src="media/d3da001b.vpnland-1-e1488550455715.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnland-1-e1488550455715.png" alt="" width="180" height="60">1. We don’t store logs with our users&#8217; Internet activity, nor we are able to match a user to an IP address. In order to detect and prevent payment fraud, we do compare buyers’ IP addresses to their billing addresses.</p>
<p>2. VPNLand Inc, Toronto, ON, Canada.</p>
<p>3. We don’t impose limits on concurrent sessions. In terms of abuse prevention – each case is investigated individually and most of the time blocking the port in question for 1 day is sufficient.</p>
<p>4. We utilize Zendesk for online chat support. Other tools are in-house and data is stored in-house as well.</p>
<p>5. DMCA emails received on our non-US servers are usually ignored.</p>
<p>6. We won’t be able to identify such user due to the lack of matching IP-port-username logs. Regarding future requests: each case will be reviewed individually, and there is no universal scenario available.</p>
<p>7. P2P is allowed on ALL non-US servers. Yes, we do provide incoming port forwarding services for an additional fee.</p>
<p>8. Credit Cards, PayPal, CryptoCurrency. Yes, we have multiple physically separated databases with different functionalities.</p>
<p>9. We recommend our users to use OpenVPN + TLS-Crypt. In countries where OpenVPN is blocked, we utilize dual encryption via Stunnel.</p>
<p>10. In our new set of apps, we offer “kill switches”. Dual IPv4/IPv6 support work in progress.</p>
<p>11. We rent servers from multiple third parties. These servers don’t have anything stored on them except VPN config scripts, and all servers are used by numerous clients at a time. We use a combination of our own DNS servers and Google public DNS servers</p>
<p>12. US, Canada, UK, All European countries, Singapore, Korea, Japan. No, we don’t play these fraud games with RIPE or ARIN databases. All our servers are physically in the locations we claim</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vpnland.com/">VPN Land website</a></p>
<h2><a name="bolehvpn"></a><a href="http://bolehvpn.net/">BolehVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-66056" src="media/3266372e.bolehvpn.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bolehvpn.jpg" alt="bolehvpn" width="182" height="61">1. We do not keep any logs on our VPN servers that would allow us to do this.</p>
<p>2. BV Internet Services Limited, Seychelles.</p>
<p>3. Generally, we just look at network graphs a number of connections and see if there is any abnormal activity. We also block certain sensitive ports that are often used for hacking/spamming.</p>
<p>4. We use Zendesk to deal with support queries and do track referrals from affiliates. We, however, provide the option to send us PGP encrypted messages via e-mail and also Zendesk. We do not use Cloudflare.</p>
<p>5. We generally find providers that are friendly towards such DMCA notices. Where it cannot be avoided, we just keep them as Surfing/Streaming servers with P2P disabled. These servers are more for geo-location or general purpose surfing rather than p2p. A no time we give out customer information.</p>
<p>6. Several years ago, we received a German police request for certain information in relation to a blackmail incident. Despite it appearing legitimate, we could not assist as we did not have any user logs. We maintain a warrant canary which we do update once a month or when there is a request for information (even if we have not complied with it).</p>
<p>7. We marked a few servers as Surfing-Streaming, as they are on providers with strict DMCA requirements. All other servers support P2P and are not treated differently from any other traffic.</p>
<p>8. Paypal, Paymentwall, Coinpayments, Paydollar, MolPay, Bitcoin, ZCoin, ZCash, Dash, and direct bank transfers.</p>
<p>9. We recommend OpenVPN, with our Cloak servers running AES-256 bit encryption as well as an XOR patch that obfuscates your traffic. This obfuscation prevents it from being recognized as VPN traffic.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we do. Our leak prevention also includes IPv6. We do support dual stack functionality.</p>
<p>11. They are bare metal boxes hosted in various providers. We do use our own DNS servers.</p>
<p>12. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the USA.</p>
<p><a href="http://bolehvpn.net/">BolehVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="slickvpn"></a><a href="https://www.slickvpn.com/">SlickVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-135978" src="media/66914728.slick-e1488485082900.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/slick-e1488485082900.png" alt="" width="180" height="104">1. SlickVPN doesn’t log traffic or session data of any kind. We don’t store connection time stamps, used bandwidth, traffic logs, or IP addresses.</p>
<p>2. Slick Networks, Inc. is our recognized corporate name. We operate a complex business structure with multiple layers of offshore holding companies, subsidiary holding companies, and finally some operating companies to help protect our interests. The main marketing entity for our business is based in the United States of America but the top level of our operating entity is based out of Nevis.</p>
<p>3. We block port 25 to reduce the likelihood of spam originating from our systems. The SlickVPN authentication backend is completely custom and limits concurrent connections.</p>
<p>4. We utilize third party email systems to contact clients who opt in for our newsletters and Google Analytics for basic website traffic monitoring and troubleshooting. We believe these platforms to be secure. Because we do not log your traffic/browsing data, no information about how users may or may not use the SlickVPN service is ever visible to these platforms.</p>
<p>5. If a valid DMCA complaint is received while the offending connection is still active, we stop the session and notify the active user of that session. Otherwise, we are unable to act on any complaint as we have no way of tracking down the user. It is important to note that we rarely receive a valid DMCA complaint while a user is still in an active session.</p>
<p>6. This has never happened in the history of our company. Our customer’s privacy is of topmost importance to us. We are required to comply with all valid court orders. We would proceed with the court order with complete transparency, but we have no data to provide any court in any jurisdiction. SlickVPN uses a warrant canary to inform users if we have received any such requests from a government agency.</p>
<p>7. Yes. All traffic is allowed. SlickVPN does not impose restrictions based on the type of traffic our users send. Outgoing mail is blocked but we offer a method to split tunnel the mail out if necessary. We can forward ports upon request. Some incoming ports may be blocked with our NAT firewall but these can be opened on request</p>
<p>8. We accept PayPal, Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Cash, and Money Orders. We keep user authentication and billing information on independent platforms. One platform is operated out of the United States of America (Marketing) and the other platform is operated out of Nevis (Operations).</p>
<p>Payment details are held by our marketing company which has no access to the Operations data. We offer the ability for the customer to permanently delete their payment information from our servers at any point and all customer data is automatically removed from our records shortly after the customer ceases being a paying member.</p>
<p>9. We recommend using OpenVPN if at all possible (available for Windows, Apple, Linux, iOS, Android) and we use the AES-256-CBC algorithm for encryption.</p>
<p>10. Our leak protection (commonly called a ‘kill-switch’) keeps your IPv4 and IPv6 traffic from leaking to any other network and protects against DNS leaks. Your network will be disabled if you lose the connection to our servers and the only way to restore the network is manual intervention by the user. We don&#8217;t offer IPv6 connections at this time</p>
<p>11. We physically control some of our server locations where we have a heavier load. Other locations are hosted with third parties unless there is enough demand in that location to justify racking our own server setup. To ensure redundancy, we host with multiple providers in each location. We have server locations in over forty countries.</p>
<p>In all cases, our network nodes load over our encrypted network stack and run from&nbsp;RAMDisk . Anyone taking control of the server would have no usable data on the disk. We periodically remount our&nbsp;RAMDisks to remove any lingering data. Each of our access servers acts as the DNS server for customers connected to that node.</p>
<p>12. At SlickVPN we actually go through the expense of putting a physical server in each country that we list. SlickVPN offers <a href="https://www.slickvpn.com/locations/">VPN service in 40 countries</a> around the world. We do not do offer virtual locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.slickvpn.com/">SlickVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="headvpn"></a> <a href="https://headvpn.com/">HeadVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-152262" src="media/94d5669c.new-headvpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/new-headvpn.png" alt="" width="180" height="55">1. We do not keep any logs on our network servers that can match an IP address and time stamp with a user.</p>
<p>2. Our service is incorporated under a company in Seychelles for our users&#8217; security and anonymity. The company name is “Global Stealth, Inc.”.</p>
<p>3. There are no such limits on our network.</p>
<p>4. Yes, we are using Google Analytics for our website traffic analysis. We also use Zendesk for chat platform.</p>
<p>5. We don’t receive DMCA notices as we have Special server network in DMCA free zones.</p>
<p>6. It will be basically ignored.</p>
<p>7. BitTorrent and P2P are allowed on our special networks designed for this purpose. These networks have all ports open.</p>
<p>8. We support credit card and PayPal. Payments can be linked to accounts.</p>
<p>9. We support AES256 SSL encryption supported protocols over multiple ports.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we do support Kill Switch for our users.</p>
<p>11. All our servers are hosted on globally known data centers with high security. We have our global DNS and SmartDNS network.</p>
<p>12. We have servers in more than 80 countries globally.</p>
<p><a href="https://headvpn.com/">HeadVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="vpnhub"></a> <a href="https://www.vpnhub.com/">VPNhub</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169961" src="media/4da6a93f.vpnhub.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnhub.png" alt="" width="180" height="74">1. We do not keep any logs of data transmitted through our service and we have no way of knowing what our users are doing while connected to our servers. However, we will note that all payment processors store IP data for the purpose of fraud mitigation. Our payment processor is no different.</p>
<p>2. We operate under AppAtomic, physically headquartered with personnel in Cyprus. We also have offices in Montreal where sales, development, and support take place.</p>
<p>3. We have proprietary systems being used to mitigate abuse, but don’t enforce limitations on concurrent connections at the current time.</p>
<p>4. We use Google’s Firebase and Analytics for basic statistical reporting, however, those services do not have access to data transferred by our users. ZenDesk is currently employed to provide support, however, we plan on migrating everything in-house in the near future.</p>
<p>5. Since we keep no logs, there is virtually nothing we can do to respond to DMCA or equivalent inquiries.</p>
<p>6. Since we do not log activity, we have no way of identifying users. In the event that we are somehow forced to log activity for a user going forward, it would be reflected in the Warrant Canary within our Privacy Policy.</p>
<p>7. We do not restrict torrents, file sharing or P2P.</p>
<p>8. We use ProBiller as a payment provider on our web site, as well as Apple and Google within our iOS and Android apps respectively. Since we have no logs, there is never anything that can be linked to usage of our service nor IP assignment.</p>
<p>9. It depends on the platform. Open VPN and IKEv2 are both considered to be the best in the industry.</p>
<p>10. We have a kill-switch feature within our Desktop apps, as well as our Android app. For iOS, incorporating a kill-switch is not possible due to operating system restrictions, but we do have an Auto-Reconnect upon Disconnect feature there.</p>
<p>11. We’ve contracted StackPath for the purpose of network infrastructure. Our agreement forbids the snooping of any traffic, and we use DNS servers they host.</p>
<p>12. Here&#8217;s <a href="/images/vpnhublist.txt">a full list</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vpnhub.com/">VPNhub website</a></p>
<h2><a name="sigavpn"></a> <a href="https://sigavpn.com/">SigaVPN</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-169960" src="media/d1a2bb7c.sigavpn.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sigavpn.png" alt="" width="180" height="48">1. No. The service is designed to minimize the amount of information known about users.</p>
<p>2. SigaVPN, a sole proprietorship in the United States of America</p>
<p>3. I can&#8217;t monitor abuse because I don&#8217;t snoop on internet traffic passing through SigaVPN servers. Concurrent connections aren&#8217;t limited, because once again, there is truly no monitoring of users at all.</p>
<p>4. I use Tutanota for email. I had analytics briefly, but it has since been removed.</p>
<p>5. All DMCA requests must be <a href="https://abuse.sigavpn.com/">sent</a> by snail-mail to SigaVPN. They must be valid. The response is always the same: I can&#8217;t help you because I don&#8217;t have the information you are inquiring about.</p>
<p>6. I can&#8217;t identify a user of the service, former or active. I would close SigaVPN before I log activity for a user. These scenarios have not happened.</p>
<p>7. No ports are blocked. BitTorrent is allowed on every server. Port forwarding is not offered.</p>
<p>8. PayPal or cryptocurrencies. Absolutely.</p>
<p>9. AES-128-CBC</p>
<p>10. IPv6 leak protection is provided. There is no kill switch provided, however, users can configure qBittorrent to bind to the OpenVPN interface.</p>
<p>11. I use dedicated servers as the rest of the industry does. DNS requests are proxied through a recursive DNS server to Cloudflare. This way Cloudflare doesn&#8217;t even see the VPN IP. The DNS proxy server collects no logs.</p>
<p>12. France, Luxembourg, USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Romania. A new location will be added soon. Virtual locations are not offered.</p>
<p><a href="https://sigavpn.com/">SigaVPN website</a></p>
<h2><a name="cyberghost"></a> <a href="http://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_us">CyberGhost</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-118898" src="media/da96f2fa.cyberghost.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cyberghost.jpg" alt="cyberghost" width="180" height="59">1. We have a strict No Logs policy, so none of our traffic or DNS servers log or store any user info.</p>
<p>2.&nbsp;We’re incorporated as CyberGhost S.A. and we operate under Romanian jurisdiction.</p>
<p>3.&nbsp;Our dedicated team monitors the whole service and infrastructure for any abuse of service. We have several tools in place, from Cloudflare, to firewalls and our own server monitoring system. Concurrent connections limits are monitored &amp; also enforced via our systems in order to avoid such types of abuses.</p>
<p>4. We use Conectoo, ActiveCampaign and Zendesk.</p>
<p>5.&nbsp; When we receive DMCA takedown notices, we send the other party a standard email informing them we keep no logs and cannot comply with the request.</p>
<p>6.&nbsp;Since we store no logs, such requests have no effect on us. Under Romanian law, data retention is not mandatory.</p>
<p>7.&nbsp; We have specific high-performance servers optimized for torrenting. In certain countries, local legislation prevents us from offering an adequate service for torrenting. Other locations have performance constraints.</p>
<p>No port forwarding is allowed, as this can be a security risk. Some ports are blocked to prevent malicious uses of our servers (25, 80).</p>
<p>8.&nbsp;Our current payment providers are Cleverbridge, Stripe, and BitPay. Payment details are held in a dedicated database and cannot be linked to anything else.</p>
<p>9.&nbsp;On iOS, macOS and Windows, our default protocol, IKEv2 with AES-256 encryption offers a good balance of performance and security. OpenVPN with AES-256 is also a solid alternative on Windows, Android, Linux, routers or other devices.</p>
<p>10. Yes, we have a kill switch in place, but we do not support dual stack.</p>
<p>11.&nbsp;Except for our NoSpy servers, we rent our VPN servers. All inbound connections from users to our servers are encrypted VPN tunnels, and we use our own DNS servers. We also install our custom OS on the servers to fully run a secure environment (no involvement from 3rd parties).</p>
<p>12. We have over 3,600 servers physically located in 60+ countries. The full list <a href="https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_US/vpn-server">is here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_us">CyberGhost website</a></p>
<h2>VPN provider(s) With Some Logs</h2>
<h2><a name="vpnac"></a> <a href="https://vpn.ac/">VPN.ac</a></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85315" src="media/bcec9486.vpnac.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnac.png" alt="vpnac" width="180" height="63">1. We keep connection logs for one day to help us in troubleshooting customers’ connection problems but also to identify attacks (e.g. bruteforce, account theft). This information contains IP address, connection start and end time, protocol used (including port) and amount of data transferred. This info isn&#8217;t stored on any servers but transfered securely in real time to an undisclosed location.</p>
<p>2. Netsec Interactive Solutions SRL, registered in Romania.</p>
<p>3. There are automated firewall rules that can kick-in in the event of some specific abusive activities. Manual intervention can take place when absolutely necessary, in order to maintain the infrastructure stable and reliable for everyone. Concurrent connections are limited by the authentication back-ends.</p>
<p>4. No, we don&#8217;t.</p>
<p>5. We are handling DMCA complaints internally without involving the users (i.e. we are not forwarding anything). We use shared IP addresses so it’s not possible to identify the users.</p>
<p>6. It has never happened. In such an event, we would rely on legal advice.</p>
<p>7. It is allowed on all servers. Port forwarding is not supported due to security and privacy weaknesses that come with it, ports aren&#8217;t blocked except for SMTP/25.</p>
<p>8. All popular cryptocurrencies, PayPal, credit cards, several country-specific payment methods, gift cards. Crypto payments can be anonymous.</p>
<p>9. OpenVPN using Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Key Exchange (ECDHE, curve secp256k1) is used by default in most cases. We also support RSA-4096, SHA256 and SHA512 for digest/HMAC. For data encryption we use AES-256-GCM and AES-128-GCM. We are also supporting the WireGuard VPN protocol (in beta).</p>
<p>10. Yes, such features are embedded in our client software.</p>
<p>11. We have physical control over our servers in Romania. In other countries, we rent or collocate our hardware. We use our own DNS resolvers and all DNS traffic between VPN gateways and DNS resolvers is encrypted.</p>
<p>12. We don’t use “virtual locations”. All servers are physically located in several countries such as: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, USA.</p>
<p><a href="https://vpn.ac/">VPN.ac website</a><br>
—–</p>
<p><em>Note: several of the providers listed in this article are TorrentFreak sponsors. We reserve the first three spots for our sponsors, as a courtesy. A few of the links to VPN providers contain affiliate links which help us pay the bills. We never sell positions in our review article or charge providers for a listing.</em></p>
<p><em>VPN providers who want to be in future question rounds are free to get in touch.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170022
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 03/25/19
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-03-25-19
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6wQEH2UAzFw/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170026" src="media/8597933a.bumble-e1553501346531.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bumble-e1553501346531.png" alt="" width="300" height="218">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Bumblebee is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a>&nbsp;for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-on-bittorrent-03-18-19/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701182/">Bumblebee</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701182/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcwmDAYt22k">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">Aquaman</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmqJJqFX_CU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">8.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488606/">Triple Frontier</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488606/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3yRLLrXQA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643972/">Triple Threat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643972/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1lO_WR-S9U">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/">Mary Poppins Returns</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgUW88D15w">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6491178/">Dragged Across Concrete</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6491178/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p5pdWyyZoc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959026/">The Mule</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959026/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QksSzK7sI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/">The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgUW88D15w">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170025
title: Music Labels Forgot Their ‘Secret’ Article 13 Weapon, So Dan Bull Used it Against Them
uri: Music-Labels-Forgot-Their-Secret-Article-13-Weapon-So-Dan-Bull
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/liWN4L0Ncqw/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/73cbedfd.image-24.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/image-24.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170029" width="257" height="159"/></figure></div>



<p>After being proposed by the European Commission two years ago, tomorrow the European Parliament will vote on whether to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/article-13-moves-forward-with-new-french-german-deal-190206/">accept amendments</a> to the Copyright Directive.</p>



<p>The run-up to this potentially historic event has proven divisive. Creative groups of all kinds &#8211; led by the major international music labels &#8211; have argued in favor of Article 13 to &#8220;secure the future&#8221; of the industry &#8211; largely by forcing sites like YouTube to pay a &#8216;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/article-13-suspense-builds-as-finish-line-nears-190115/">fair rate</a>&#8216; for musical works.</p>



<p> Opponents, on the other hand, have declared war on &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/upload-filters-article-13-the-latest-eu-proposals-181120/">upload filters</a>&#8221; and &#8220;censorship machines&#8221;, <a href="https://boingboing.net/2019/03/23/artikel-13.html">rallying in large numbers</a> this past weekend to air their concerns and put pressure on lawmakers. While they do not want &#8216;bots&#8217; to control the Internet, they have been accused of being <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/european-parliaments-pro-article-13-video-has-backfired-190308/">&#8216;bots&#8217; themselves</a>, a claim they hoped to dispel with these physical protests.</p>



<p>At times, the war of words online has been horribly bitter, with insults traded on Twitter, in particular. Accompanying that has been the publication of many lengthy statements from industry groups, explaining why they need to protect the livelihoods of <g class="gr_ gr_34 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="34" data-gr-id="34">musical</g> artists.</p>



<p>Strangely, however, supportive interventions from artists Paul McCartney, Placido Domingo, and Adele have been notable in their brevity, with the vast majority of the industry&#8217;s greatest assets remaining largely silent. It&#8217;s a somewhat curious situation given the power and reach of music.</p>



<p>The writers have been writing, the lobbyists have been lobbying, the politicians have been politicking, and the activists have been shouting. So why haven&#8217;t the musicians and singers been playing their hearts out?</p>



<p>Well, out of the silence has stepped one, although his message is probably not what the music industry would&#8217;ve liked to hear.</p>



<p>UK rapper Dan Bull, who first made it big rapping about controversial topics in the copyright space, is now back with a new track. After a long hiatus serving the gaming community, he&#8217;s returned and used the music industry&#8217;s most powerful weapon against it.</p>



<p>On Friday, Bull <a href="https://youtu.be/08Zgti7fQuM">released</a> a video and rap titled &#8220;RoboCopyright&#8221; and invited everyone to quickly &#8220;remix this before it&#8217;s illegal&#8221;.</p>



<p>Working with Bull (alongside a cameo from PewDiePie), Maltese music producer and YouTuber Grandayy did just that, delivering a powerful and polished track, slamming Article 13.</p>


<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style>
<div class="embed-container"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VvpWQkbyW2A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>


<p>Back in 2003, Sacha Baron Cohen character &#8216;Ali G&#8217; scored an interview with future US president Donald Trump to push for an investment in a bogus business idea beginning with the <a href="https://youtu.be/PDu9CvbrnlM?t=118">opening question</a>: &#8220;What is the most popular thing in the world?&#8221;</p>



<p>Trump, of course, couldn&#8217;t agree that thing was ice cream, as Cohen was suggesting. Instead, he pointed to music and was almost certainly right. So, given the armies of fans at their disposal, why haven&#8217;t the world&#8217;s most popular artists been doing what they do so brilliantly to send a message in favor of Article 13?</p>



<p>Tomorrow it&#8217;s possible they&#8217;ll learn that their efforts weren&#8217;t needed. Or, just maybe, they&#8217;ll be glad they didn&#8217;t alienate the YouTube generation when it all goes wrong.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170060
title: Music Companies Sue ISP Bright House for Failing to Disconnect Pirates
uri: Music-Companies-Sue-ISP-Bright-House-for-Failing-to-Disconnect-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/iTQPOLItQPE/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170074" src="media/25f92083.brighthouse.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/brighthouse.jpg" alt="" width="277" height="148">For roughly two decades, copyright holders have been sending takedown notices to ISPs to alert them that their subscribers are sharing copyrighted material.</p>
<p>Under US law, providers must terminate the accounts of repeat infringers “in appropriate circumstances” and increasingly they are being held to this standard.</p>
<p>Several major music industry companies including Artista Records, Capitol Records, Polygram Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music, and Warner Bros Records, have filed lawsuits against a variety of Internet providers.</p>
<p>With help from the RIAA, the companies targeted&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-file-billion-dollar-piracy-lawsuit-against-isp-cox-180802/">Cox Communications </a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-sues-isp-grande-communications-for-failing-to-disconnect-pirates-170422/">Grande Communications</a>, hoping to recoup damages for their role in the pirating activities of their subscribers.</p>
<p>The overall theme of these lawsuits is the same. The music companies accuse the ISPs of turning a blind eye to pirating subscribers. This is also made clear in a new complaint that was just filed against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_House_Networks">Bright House Networks</a> at a federal court in Florida.</p>
<p>A few years ago Bright House was the sixth largest ISP in the US. In 2016, the company was acquired by Charter, and its customers were subsequently moved to the Spectrum brand. However, that hasn&#8217;t stopped the music companies from suing the company over its past practices.</p>
<p>In the complaint, the music companies argue that the ISP knowingly contributed to and profited from the copyright infringing actions of its subscribers. As such, the company should be held liable for this activity, they state.</p>
<p>&#8220;Indeed, for years, Bright House deliberately refused to take reasonable measures to curb customers from using its Internet services to infringe on others’ copyrights, including Plaintiffs’ copyrights—even after Bright House became aware of particular customers engaging in specific, repeated acts of infringement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rather than working with Plaintiffs to curb this massive infringement, Bright House did nothing, choosing to prioritize its own profits over its legal obligations,&#8221; the complaint adds.</p>
<p>The lawsuit covers Bright House&#8217;s activities between 2013 and 2016, before the Charter acquisition. The music companies write that, despite sending more than a hundred thousand infringement notices, the ISP&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">knowingly allowed specifically identified repeat infringers to keep using its service.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;</span>In reality, Bright House operated its service as an attractive tool and safe haven for infringement,&#8221; the complaint reads.</p>
<p>The more than 60 music publisher plaintiffs list several examples of Bright House customers who were allowed to continue despite dozens, sometimes even hundreds of copyright infringement notices.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/5ddeac18.brightip.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/brightip.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170078" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/brightip.png 600w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/brightip-220x130.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption>Some examples</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>&#8220;During an 827-day period, Bright House subscriber with IP address 75.114.183.231 was identified in 340 infringement notices, sent on at least 232 separate days,&#8221; the complaint reads.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&#8220;These examples and countless others amply illustrate that, rather than terminating repeat infringers—and losing subscription revenues—Bright House simply looked the other way.&#8221;</p>
<p>The allegations are very similar to the other &#8220;repeat infringer&#8221; lawsuits we have seen in the past. As in the other cases, the ISP is accused of both contributory and vicarious copyright infringement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The music companies claim substantial losses for which they want to be compensated. They request actual damages or statutory damages of $150,000 per work. With more than 7,000 tracks as evidence, a list that may grow even longer, the potential damages are over $1 billion.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the complaint, filed at The United States District Court Middle District of Florida in Tampa is <a href="media/d4faec52.brighthousecomplaint.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/brighthousecomplaint.pdf">available here (pdf)</a>.</em></p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170112
title: Music Companies Sue Charter For Turning a Blind Eye to Piracy
uri: Music-Companies-Sue-Charter-For-Turning-a-Blind-Eye-to-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gkCyHjfex94/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170114" src="media/333431a4.charter.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/charter.png" alt="" width="277" height="151"></p>
<p>Yesterday, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/music-companies-sue-isp-bright-house-for-failing-to-disconnect-pirates-190325/">we reported</a> that a group of music industry giants, including&nbsp;Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros, have sued Internet provider Bright House Networks for failing to disconnect pirating subscribers.</p>
<p>While that lawsuit was filed in Florida, the same companies also filed a complaint against Charter Communications in a Colorado District Court. The cases and the underlying accusations are very similar, which is no surprise as Charter acquired Bright House in 2016.</p>
<p>Under US law, providers must terminate the accounts of repeat infringers “in appropriate circumstances” and Charter failed to do so, according to the music publishers. Specifically, the ISP is accused of ignoring repeat infringers on its network, which it continued to serve as customers.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is well-established law that a party may not assist someone it knows is engaging in copyright infringement. Further, when a party has a direct financial interest in the infringing activity, and the right and practical ability to stop or limit it, that party must act,&#8221; the complaint reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ignoring and flouting those basic responsibilities, Charter deliberately turned a blind eye to its subscribers’ infringement. Charter failed to terminate or otherwise take meaningful action against the accounts of repeat infringers of which it was aware.&#8221;</p>
<p>As <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/music-labels-sue-charter-complain-that-high-internet-speeds-fuel-piracy/">highlighted</a> by Ars Technica, the music companies allege that the ISP&#8217;s high-speed Internet service was used to lure customers who could use it to facilitate their infringing activities.</p>
<p>Specifically, the complaint states that Charter was &#8220;advertising its high-speed Internet services in Colorado to serve as a draw for subscribers who sought faster download speeds to facilitate their direct and repeated infringements.&#8221;</p>
<p>These allegations are not new and have been made against&nbsp;other ISPs in the past, including the aforementioned&nbsp;Bright House, but also <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-sues-isp-grande-communications-for-failing-to-disconnect-pirates-170422/">Grande Communications</a> and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-file-billion-dollar-piracy-lawsuit-against-isp-cox-180802/">Cox Communications</a>.</p>
<p>These ISPs provide an &#8220;<span class="fontstyle0">attractive tool&#8221; and &#8220;safe haven&#8221; for pirates, according to the music companies. As such, they should not be entitled to &#8220;safe harbor&#8221; protection under the DMCA, it is argued.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>This was also the conclusion of the Texas District Court earlier this month, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-grande-loses-safe-harbor-over-utter-failure-to-terminate-pirating-customers-190318/">which ruled</a> that Grande Communications failed to adopt and reasonably implement a repeat infringer policy.</p>
<p>Charter will likely face similar allegations going forward. The complaint that was just filed provides several examples of &#8220;repeat infringers,&#8221; including some subscribers for which the ISP received hundreds of infringement notices.</p>
<p>According to the music companies, it is clear that Charter intentionally ignored these repeated copyright infringements. As such, they believe that the ISP is liable for both contributory and vicarious copyright infringement.</p>
<p>As compensation for the claimed losses, the companies demand statutory or actual damages, as well as coverage for their attorney fees and other costs. This could potentially run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.</p>
<p><em>—</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the complaint, filed at The United States District Court for&nbsp;the District of Colorado is <a href="media/8347e812.chartercomplaint.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/chartercomplaint.pdf">available here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170110
title: EU Parliament Adopts Copyright Directive, Including ‘Article 13’
uri: EU-Parliament-Adopts-Copyright-Directive-Including-Article-13
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/VgKPChxlYvc/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985" src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167">In 2016, the European Commission first announced its plans to&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-proposes-mandatory-piracy-filters-for-online-services-160914/">modernize EU copyright law</a>.</p>
<p>Initially, the plans received little mainstream attention, but over the past year that changed drastically.</p>
<p>Article 13 and Article 11 of the Copyright Directive, which were renamed to Article 17 and Article 15 in the <a href="media/059be3d3.A-8-2018-0245-AM-271-271_EN.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0245-AM-271-271_EN.pdf">final text</a>, were highly contested. Opponents repeatedly warned that the former would lead to &#8220;upload filters&#8221; and censorship, and the latter was framed as a &#8220;link tax.&#8221;</p>
<p>At the same time, many rightsholder groups, publishers, and other members of the creative industry embraced the proposals. They saw it as a much-needed lifeline to ensure fair remuneration on the Internet.</p>
<p>Today, the European Parliament voted on the final text of the proposed Directive.</p>
<p>First up was a proposal to reject the entire&nbsp;Copyright Directive. This was <a href="media/47601a12.Screenshot_13.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/Screenshot_13.png">rejected</a> with 443 votes against and 181 in favor. A subsequent vote to allow amendments to the text of the directive was also rejected, although that was very close with <a href="media/76a47f7b.Screenshot_14.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/Screenshot_14.png">317 in favor and 312 against</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Parliament then moved on to vote on the entire text of the Copyright Directive without any changes, including the renumbered Article 13 and Article 11.</p>
<p>With 348 Members of Parliament in favor, 274 against, and 36 abstentions, the Copyright Directive was adopted.</p>
<p></p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/2f490eab.vote2.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/vote2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170151"/><figcaption>The vote</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The decision comes as a major disappointment to Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Copyright Directive.</p>
<p>Earlier today she <a href="https://youtu.be/p72qB3Cc9sI">urged</a> her colleagues to reject the plans and moments ago described the outcome of the vote as a &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1110509970213294081">dark day for internet freedom.</a>&#8221; Reda, who&#8217;s the Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group, says they will continue to fight against this new European law.</p>
<p>&#8220;The new copyright law as it stands threatens a free internet as we know it: Algorithms cannot distinguish between actual copyright infringements and the perfectly legal re-use of content for purposes such as parody,&#8221; Reda notes. </p>
<p>&#8220;Obliging platforms to use upload filters will lead to more frequent blocking of legal uploads and make life difficult for smaller platforms that cannot afford expensive filter software,&#8221; she adds.</p>
<p>Article 13 (now 17),  requires many for-profit Internet platforms to license content from copyright holders. If that is not possible, they should ensure that infringing content is taken down and not re-uploaded to their services.</p>
<p>Many rightsholder groups are pleased with the outcome. Frances Moore,  CEO of the music group IFPI, was quick to thank lawmakers for their efforts and is looking forward to seeing the changes implemented.</p>
<p>&#8220;This world-first legislation confirms that User-Upload Content platforms perform an act of communication to the public and must either seek authorization from rightsholders or ensure no unauthorized content is available on their platforms.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Directive also includes a ‘stay down’ provision requiring platforms to keep unlicensed content down – another global first,&#8221; Moore adds.</p>
<p>With support from the European Parliament, the Copyright Directive will now be sent to the Council, which has to formally adopt the law. This is likely to take place in two weeks, on April 9.</p>
<p>There still is a chance that a member state such as Germany <a href="http://www.fosspatents.com/2019/03/even-after-todays-eu-parliament-vote-we.html">withdraws its support</a> in the Council, which would mean that further negotiations are required. This could introduce delays beyond the European elections on May 23, 2019.</p>
<p>If the Copyright Directive is adopted by the Council, EU member states will have to implement the text in local legislation. This won&#8217;t happen right away could take up to two more years.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170180
title: ACE Expands Anti-Piracy Coalition With Discovery & Viacom Companies
uri: ACE-Expands-Anti-Piracy-Coalition-With-Discovery-Viacom-Companies
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/5hVUayGa8z8/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/1a4a8e6c.ace-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ace-logo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-140379"/></figure></div>



<p>In the years leading up to 2017, it was almost exclusively Hollywood&#8217;s MPAA taking action against major movie and TV pirates across the globe.</p>



<p>In dozens of actions targeting torrent and streaming platforms, the MPAA&#8217;s studio members were the ones making the headlines, pursuing The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, and a multitude of similar unlicensed platforms.</p>



<p>Almost two years ago, a new tactic emerged with the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/global-entertainment-giants-form-massive-anti-piracy-coalition-170613/">formation</a> of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a new initiative designed to target existing and developing piracy operations on a global scale. By the summer of 2017, the MPAA was no longer tackling video and TV piracy alone.</p>



<p>The ACE coalition, which has the studios of the MPAA plus Netflix and Amazon as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/inside-the-mpaa-netflix-amazon-global-anti-piracy-alliance-170918/">founding members</a>, boasted 30 international companies to complete its launch ranks, including giants such as BBC Worldwide, Bell Canada, MGM, and Village Roadshow, to name a few.</p>



<p>Today, its ranks expanded further still with the addition of three prominent new members.</p>



<p>The highest-profile addition is <a href="https://corporate.discovery.com/">Discovery Inc.</a>, a company operating factual networks across 220 countries in 50 different languages. <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7">Its</g> premium brands include the world-famous Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Oprah Winfrey Network, Animal Network, plus many others. Its revenues in 2018 were a <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/disca/financials?query=income-statement">reported</a> $10.55 billion.</p>



<p>Also celebrating their membership of ACE are a pair of Viacom-owned companies.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.channel5.com/">Channel 5</a> is a free-to-air TV channel based in the UK. Launched back in 1997, Channel 5 is the fifth most popular channel in the region by audience share (around 4%) and was acquired by Viacom back in 2014 for more than $750m. </p>



<p>Another Viacom-owned company, <a href="https://telefe.com/">Telefe,</a> has also been welcomed to the ACE fold. The coalition describes the company as one of the leading free-to-air channels and one of the biggest creators of content in Argentina, boasting 11 studios and more than 3,500 hours of content produced each year.</p>



<p>&#8220;ACE is the leading global content protection organization, and the addition of Discovery, Channel 5 and Telefe only enhances our ability to  support creators,&#8221; said Charles Rivkin, Chairman <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">and</g> CEO of the MPAA.</p>



<p>&#8220;Leveraging the expertise of MPAA’s content protection team, ACE has achieved numerous successes over the last two years and we continue to work with law enforcement around the world to reduce the threat of piracy and illegal streaming.&#8221;</p>



<p>While all of the new members can observe their content being shared on torrent sites and web-based streaming portals, they will also be interested in preventing the distribution of their content via unlicensed IPTV services.</p>



<p>Discovery channels, in particular, are a big draw on such platforms, with subscribers offered most (if not all) of their channels in multi-thousand channel packages for just a few dollars, euros, or pounds per month.</p>



<p>And, of course, ACE&#8217;s new members are also exposed to unlicensed content distribution via preloaded devices. ACE has targeted them with legal action too, including those sold by <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dragon-box-has-to-pay-ace-14-5-million-in-piracy-damages-190129/">Dragon Media</a> and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ace-scores-legal-victory-and-wins-25m-piracy-damages-from-tickbox-180911/">TickBoxTV</a>, cases that both ended in multi-million dollar settlements.</p>



<p>Pirate streaming apps and third-party Kodi add-ons are also considered a threat, so ACE has been picking a few of them off too (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ares-kodi-project-calls-it-quits-after-hollywood-cease-desist-171117/">1</a>,<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-kodi-addon-devs-distributors-told-to-cease-and-desist-180214/">2</a>,<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ace-warns-kodi-addon-developer-to-sign-settlement-agreement-or-else-180306/">3</a>,<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/illuminati-kodi-repository-throws-in-the-towel-after-ace-threats-180926/">4</a>) over the past couple of years.</p>



<p>The full list of ACE members is now confirmed as follows:</p>



<p><em>Amazon, AMC Networks, BBC Worldwide, Bell Canada and Bell Media, Canal+  Group, CBS Corporation, Channel 5, Constantin Film, Discovery, Foxtel,  Grupo Globo, HBO, Hulu, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Millennium  Media, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, SF Studios, Sky, Sony  Pictures Entertainment, Star India, Studio Babelsberg, STX  Entertainment, Telefe, Telemundo, Televisa, Univision Communications  Inc., Village Roadshow, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros.  Entertainment Inc. </em> </p>



<p> </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170067
title: Police and FACT Raids Target “£3 Million” Pirate TV Operation
uri: Police-and-FACT-Raids-Target-3-Million-Pirate-TV-Operation
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/i6JK86AD1tk/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/a035d672.piratkeyb-e1476968827887.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/piratkeyb-e1476968827887.png" alt="" class="wp-image-108110"/></figure></div>



<p>Piracy of TV content is an extremely hot topic at the moment, with IPTV and often associated card-sharing systems proving a huge thorn in the sides of content owners and broadcasters alike.</p>



<p>The latest news comes in the wake of raids carried out Monday in London by police, Trading Standards, and anti-piracy outfit the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).</p>



<p>The action, described as targeting a &#8220;£3 million fraud operation&#8221;, came as part of an investigation to &#8220;download, encrypt and widely distribute TV content from Sky, Virgin <g class="gr_ gr_10 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="10" data-gr-id="10">and</g> BT.&#8221;</p>



<p>Local <a href="https://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/crime-court/police-fraud-in-ilford-1-5954398">sources</a> in Ilford, where officers raided a shop, say the operation was carried out in partnership with Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham Trading Standards. Two homes were also raided and searched.</p>



<p>Two men were arrested on suspicion of fraud, with police claiming that the suspects generated £600,000 per year from their activities. A list of 3,000 subscribers to their services, which was found in the shop, is now in the hands of the authorities.</p>



<p>A figure of £3 million has been placed on the estimated fraud although it remains unclear whether that&#8217;s the total revenue of the &#8216;pirate&#8217; business or the amount the broadcasters are claiming in losses.</p>



<p>According to the <a href="https://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk">Ilford Recorder</a>, equipment worth £100,000 &#8211; including computers, servers, and set-top boxes &#8211; was seized by the councils&#8217; Trading Standards officers.</p>



<p>TorrentFreak contacted the Federation Against Copyright Theft for further details on the operation but at the time of writing, we are yet to receive a response. It <g class="gr_ gr_24 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation replaceWithoutSep" id="24" data-gr-id="24">therefore</g> remains unclear whether the targets were running an IPTV operation alongside &#8216;pirate&#8217; set-top box sales, or perhaps offering card-sharing services.</p>



<p>&#8220;This type of fraud, on this <g class="gr_ gr_24 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="24" data-gr-id="24">scale</g> has an impact upon providers of TV channels, steals their income and can lead to increased costs for legitimate subscribers,&#8221; said Councillor <a href="http://moderngov.redbridge.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=77">Robert C. Littlewood</a>, Cabinet Member for Crime, Safety &amp; Community Cohesion.</p>



<p>&#8220;Investigations are ongoing and Redbridge Trading Standards are continuing with enforcement action to bring the offenders before the courts, including the seizure of illegal assets gained from the fraud.&#8221;</p>



<p>News of action against pirate TV providers has suddenly become an extremely hot topic recently<g class="gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="8" data-gr-id="8">.</g></p>



<p>Last week, three men from the UK <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/three-pirate-tv-device-sellers-jailed-for-a-total-of-17-years-190321/">were jailed</a> for a total of 17 years for running a pirate TV operation, which more recently including illegal streaming.</p>



<p>Just a day a later, news broke that police across Europe had dismantled what they claimed to be the biggest illegal IPTV network targeted thus far in the region, worth an estimated eight million euros. <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-iptv-police-across-europe-carry-out-largest-ever-operation-190322/">Five people were arrested</a>.</p>



<p> </p>



<p> </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170103
title: BitTorrent Announces Social Media Streaming Platform “BitTorrent Live”
uri: BitTorrent-Announces-Social-Media-Streaming-Platform-BitTorrent-Liv
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/DX8r6acG9aU/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-156117" src="media/63ae51b5.bittorrent.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent.png" alt="" width="263" height="126"></p>
<p>Many people know <a href="https://www.bittorrent.com/">BitTorrent Inc.</a> for its uTorrent and BitTorrent mainline clients, which have a base of roughly 100 million monthly users.</p>
<p>The company has tried to launch many other applications and services over the years, to diversify its offerings, but these efforts haven’t been very successful.</p>
<p>After the acquisition by the crypto-startup TRON, there is no shortage of new plans. With solid financial backing and fresh developers, the company has just announced a new product, &#8220;<a href="https://www.bittorrent.com/live">BitTorrent Live</a>,&#8221; which it hopes the masses will embrace.</p>
<p>The &#8220;BitTorrent Live&#8221; brand itself isn&#8217;t new. A similarly named service was revealed to the public <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-new-live-streaming-platform-130312/">in 2013</a>, but after several iterations, this eventually shut down. However, the new BitTorrent Live promises to be something entirely different.</p>
<p>The new platform will operate as a social media network which people can use to stream live content from and to mobile devices, anywhere they have access to the Internet.</p>
<p>&#8220;Imagine chatting with your favorite athlete, becoming immersed in a music festival, or meeting new friends to share your passions &#8211; all by simply firing up the BitTorrent Live app,&#8221; says Justin Sun, CEO of BitTorrent.</p>
<p>&#8220;By using our decentralized technology, we aim to create a boundary-free internet but also be at the forefront of a new content experience,&#8221; Sun adds.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/9e30f0fe.blive5.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/blive5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170204"/><figcaption>BitTorrent Live</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Live streaming apps are nothing new of course. Many social media platforms already incorporate some kind of streaming function. BitTorrent Live promises to be different, with a strong focus on privacy and an option for creators to generate revenue.</p>
<p>&#8220;In coming months, BitTorrent Live also will incorporate blockchain technology that returns privacy and ownership to users while also enabling cryptocurrency to be used as a new payment option,&#8221; BitTorrent Inc. says.</p>
<p>The problem is that, for now, there is nothing to test. The company has <a href="https://www.bittorrent.com/live">opened the door</a> for Beta testers to apply, but it will take at least a few more weeks before the first invites go out. There are no mockups of the application available either.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak did learn that the first version of the platform won&#8217;t use BitTorrent to power the live streams. There is no option to access archived content either, it appears.</p>
<p>Specifically, BitTorrent Inc. told us that the early version of BitTorrent Live &#8220;will be centralized.&#8221; This means that, unlike the name suggests, there is no P2P technology involved.</p>
<p>&#8220;But the team is already looking at ways to integrate decentralized technology into the core of the app. We are also looking at ways to archive the content,&#8221; a BitTorrent Inc. representative added.</p>
<p>The company further explained that the revenue generating opportunities it plans to offer will depend on &#8220;content quality.&#8221; These revenues will be paid in BitTorrent&#8217;s<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-token-sold-out-quickly-but-whos-buying/"> own BTT token</a>, which launched in January.</p>
<p>At this point, it&#8217;s hard to tell whether the public will be interested in the live streaming platform. The same can also be said for its &#8216;get paid to seed&#8217; plans. It would be interesting if BitTorrent Live eventually incorporates BitTorrent technology though. They have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-inventor-granted-p2p-live-streaming-patent-150731/">the patent for it</a>, after all.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170189
title: Vodafone Germany Blocks Popular Pirate Forum to Avoid Lawsuit
uri: Vodafone-Germany-Blocks-Popular-Pirate-Forum-to-Avoid-Lawsuit
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WrBUrSv_XpM/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170237" src="media/f148e0da.beurse-e1553763065246.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/beurse-e1553763065246.png" alt="" width="277" height="93"></p>
<p>With millions of monthly visitors, <a href="http://boerse.to/">Boerse.to</a> is one of the most popular &#8216;warez boards&#8217; in Germany.</p>
<p>The site launched in 2014, following the demise of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/german-police-raid-121-homes-in-pirate-site-crackdown-141104/">Boerse.bz.</a> Like its predecessor, it operates as a linking site where users archive and share links to pirated movies, TV-shows, music, and more.</p>
<p>A few days ago, subscribers of Vodafone Germany noticed that something wasn&#8217;t right. All of a sudden, they were unable to access the Boerse.to domain. Instead of the usual homepage, they were redirected to a blocking notification.</p>
<p>This came as a surprise, as there was no knowledge of a blocking request against Vodafone in German courts. Also, subscribers of other Internet providers could still access the site just fine, as the local news site Tarnkappe <a href="https://tarnkappe.info/vodafone-gema-fuer-sperre-von-boerse-to-verantwortlich/">confirmed</a>.</p>
<p>After the weekend, more details started to emerge. Vodafone confirmed that it had indeed started to block Boerse.to, but not by court order. Instead, it decided to implement the blocking measure following a request from the German music rights group GEMA.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the basis of a notification from GEMA, we have set up a DNS blockade for the &#8216;boerse.to&#8217; domain. &#8220;The blockade affects Vodafone GmbH&#8217;s fixed and mobile network,&#8221; a Vodafone spokesperson informs TorrentFreak.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/2f97302f.vodablock-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/vodablock-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-170249"/><figcaption> <br>Blocked (image via Tarnkappe)<br></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The measure doesn&#8217;t come out of the blue. Vodafone was previously notified by its service provider 1&amp;1, which took action following a complaint from GEMA. The music rights group then went after Vodafone as well.</p>
<p>While there is no court order directing the ISP to implement a blockade, Vodafone believes it has to take action in order to avoid liability.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&#8220;GEMA has officially sent us a notification and we have set up the DNS blockade in order to avoid a legal dispute in accordance with the principles established by the Federal Court of Justice,&#8221; the ISP informed TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>In the referenced Federal Court case, last summer the Court<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/german-supreme-court-wifi-operators-not-liable-for-pirating-users-180730/">&nbsp;ruled</a> that WiFi providers cannot be held liable for piracy carried out by their users. However, they can be told to block file-sharing services and even entire websites once any copyright infringement has been confirmed.</p>
<p>&#8220;According to the Dead Island decision of the Federal Court of Justice in July 2018, there is a subsidiary obligation to act under Section 7 (4) TMG for the access provider,&#8221; Vodafone tells us.</p>
<p>&#8220;As an access provider, we are critical of these blocking requests. We comply with a legal obligation here,&#8221; the ISP notes, adding that it verified in advance that GEMA took its own pre-litigation efforts against the original infringers.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the first time that Vodafone has implemented a pirate site blockade based on these arguments. It did the same <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vodafone-blocks-two-pirate-streaming-sites-without-a-court-order-181221/">late last year</a> after it was notified about infringing activity at the streaming portals ‘s.to’ and ‘bs.to’.</p>
<p>Commenting on the blockade, GEMA said that it would prefer to take action against site owners directly. However, this isn&#8217;t always possible, often because the operators are unknown. Blocking is the only remaining option.</p>
<p>While many rightsholders will welcome this shortcut route as an easier way to block websites in Germany, the effectiveness of the measures is still up for debate.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, a DNS blockade is easily circumvented by subscribers, who can simply which to open alternatives, provided by companies such as <a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/">Google</a> and <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/announcing-1111/">Cloudflare</a>.</p>
<p></p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170231
title: Russia Orders Major VPN Providers to Block ‘Banned’ Sites
uri: Russia-Orders-Major-VPN-Providers-to-Block-Banned-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/TPZ3tTA_ZHI/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/1b97a33a.deniedblocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/deniedblocked.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-143825" width="225" height="166"/></figure></div>



<p>For the past several years, Russia has continued with its mission to restrict access to content the state finds objectionable.</p>



<p>Many kinds of sites, from alleged pirate platforms to sites hosting extremist content, have all been affected<g class="gr_ gr_32 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="32" data-gr-id="32">.</g></p>



<p>Local ISPs are required by law to block their domains, rendering them inaccessible. However, plenty of circumvention options are available, something the government is trying to address.</p>



<p>During July 2017, President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/russia-bans-unrestricted-vpns-proxies-and-tor-in-russia-170731/">signed a bill</a> into law aiming to close this loophole. The plan was to prevent citizens from accessing banned sites using VPNs, proxies, Tor, and other anonymizing services.</p>



<p>The threat was simple: if such services were found to be facilitating access to banned platforms, they too could find themselves on Russia&#8217;s  &#8216;Internet blacklist&#8217;, known locally as FGIS.</p>



<p>While some VPN providers pulled out of Russia well before the new legislation (Private Internet Access <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-pia-exits-russia-server-seizures-160712/">exited in 2016</a> for unconnected reasons), others have continued. Now, however, authorities are attempting to tighten the noose.</p>



<p>During the past few days, telecoms watch Roscomnadzor says it sent compliance notifications to 10 major VPN services with servers inside Russia &#8211; NordVPN, ExpressVPN, TorGuard, IPVanish, VPN Unlimited, VyprVPN, Kaspersky Secure Connection, HideMyAss!, Hola VPN, and OpenVPN.</p>



<p>The government agency is demanding that the affected services begin interfacing with the FGIS database, blocking the sites listed within. Several other local companies &#8211; search giant Yandex, Sputnik, Mail.ru, and Rambler &#8211; are already connected to the database and filtering as required.</p>



<p>&#8220;In accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 15.8 of the Federal Law No. 149-FZ of 27.07.2006 &#8216;On Information, Information Technology and on Protection of Information&#8217; hereby we are informing you about the  necessity to get connected to the Federal state informational  system of  the  blocked information sources and networks [FGIS] within thirty working days from the receipt [of this notice],&#8221; the <a href="media/d10777c7.torguard-roscomnadzor.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.docdroid.net/p1YUjYR/torguard-roscomnadzor.pdf">notice </a>reads. </p>



<p>A notice received by TorGuard reveals that the provider was indeed given just under a month to comply. The notice also details the consequences for not doing so, i.e being placed on the blacklist with the rest of the banned sites so it cannot operate in Russia.</p>



<p>TorGuard, however, is clear &#8211; it won&#8217;t operate under <g class="gr_ gr_19 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="19" data-gr-id="19">th</g>ose terms so has already left of its own accord.</p>



<p>&#8220;At the time of this <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">writing</g> TorGuard has taken steps to remove all physical server presence in Russia. We have wiped clean all servers in our Saint Petersburg and Moscow locations and will no longer be doing business with data centers in the region,&#8221; the company said in a  <g class="gr_ gr_48 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="48" data-gr-id="48">stateme</g>nt.</p>



<p>&#8220;We would like to be clear that this removal of servers was a voluntary decision by TorGuard management and no equipment seizure occurred.&#8221;</p>



<p>The demand from Roscomnadzor sent to TorGuard and the other companies also requires that they hand over information to the authorities, including details of their operators and places of business.</p>



<p>The notice itself states that for foreign entities, Russian authorities require the full entity name, country of residence, <g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="3" data-gr-id="3"><g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="3" data-gr-id="3">tax</g></g> number and/or trade register number, postal and email address details, plus other information.</p>



<p>The Roscomnadzor notification provided by TorGuard doesn&#8217;t make any demands to access VPN customer data. However, given TorGuard&#8217;s privacy policies, that should already be a moot point.</p>



<p>&#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-keep-you-anonymous-in-2019/">We do not store any logs</a> so even if servers were compromised it would be impossible for customer’s data to be exposed,&#8221; the provider added.</p>



<p>The same situation should also be true at several of the other VPN providers contacted by Russian authorities. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, TorGuard and VyprVPN, for example, all declared in <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-keep-you-anonymous-in-2019/">TorrentFreak&#8217;s 2019 annual roundup</a> that they carry zero logs.</p>



<p>As the companies in question consult with their legal teams, only time will tell which of the others will choose to comply with Russian law and begin blocking &#8211; or leave the region completely.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170234
title: U.S. Wants ‘Copyright Troll’ Lawyer in Prison for 12.5 Years
uri: U-S-Wants-Copyright-Troll-Lawyer-in-Prison-for-12-5-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EpK3ZCq4mW4/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-108977" src="media/17a592c8.trollsign.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/trollsign.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167">Over the past several years, so-called copyright trolls have been accused of various dubious schemes and actions, but one firm crossed into criminal territory.</p>
<p>The now-defunct <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/?s=prenda">Prenda</a> Law repeatedly deceived courts, <span class="fontstyle0">obtaining millions of dollars in dubious piracy settlements, while using sham companies as clients.</span></p>
<p>Most controversial was the shocking revelation that Prenda <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-helps-to-expose-copyright-troll-honeypot-130604/">uploaded their own torrents</a> to The Pirate Bay, creating a honeypot for the people they later sued over pirated downloads.</p>
<p>The accusation was first published here on TorrentFreak. While some disregarded it as a wild conspiracy theory, the US Department of Justice took it rather seriously. These and other allegations ultimately resulted in a criminal indictment, which was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-pleads-guilty-role-multi-million-dollar-scheme-fraudulently-obtain-copyright">filed in 2016</a>.</p>
<p>The US Government accused two leading Prenda lawyers of various crimes, including money laundering, perjury, mail, and wire fraud. Since then both defendants, attorneys Paul Hansmeier and John Steele, have both signed plea agreements.</p>
<p>Last summer, Hansmeier admitted that he is guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering. With the final decision coming up, the Government and the defendant have now issued their sentencing recommendations.</p>
<p>According to the Government, it is clear that<span class="fontstyle0"> Hansmeier was the driving force behind the entire scheme. He came up with the settlement scheme, drafted nearly all paperwork that was used to deceive judges, and directed his brother to upload torrents to lure pirates.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Hansmeier instructed his brother, Peter Hansmeier, to upload &#8216;torrent files&#8217; to BitTorrent websites such as the Pirate Bay, affirmatively to induce people to steal his clients’ copyrighted pornographic movies,&#8221; the Government writes.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Paul Hansmeier selected the pornographic movies for his brother to upload based upon how attractive they would be to BitTorrent users, thus deliberately encouraging the piracy Hansmeier pretended to hate.&#8221;</span></p>
<p>Hansmeier&#8217;s brother uploaded several torrents under the username Sharkmp4, many of which remain online today. </p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/e890f37d.sharkmp4-1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/sharkmp4-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170278"/><figcaption>Sharkmp4</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>With the IP-addresses that were obtained through this honeypot scheme, Prenda requested subpoenas to obtain the names and addresses of Internet subscribers. These people were then threatened into settling for figures up to <span class="fontstyle0">$3,000. Whether they were guilty or not appeared to be irrelevant.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Hansmeier was generally content to take this step without investigating whether the subscriber was, in fact, the infringer. Hansmeier thus inflicted plenty of pain on persons who did not, in fact, download his pornographic bait,&#8221; the Government writes.</span></p>
<p>In total, Prenda Law generated roughly <span class="fontstyle0">$3,000,000 from the fraudulent copyright lawsuits they filed at courts throughout the United States.</span></p>
<p>While it is by no means illegal to go after file-sharers, the Prenda attorneys crossed a line by repeatedly lying to or misleading the courts. Hansmeier also <span class="fontstyle0">filmed and produced many videos himself, leading the court to believe that these were from a third-party company.</span></p>
<p>Hansmeier argued that the videos were from a company called <span class="fontstyle0">“Ingenuity 13,” for example, but didn&#8217;t mention that he was the driving force behind it. Also, the court was led to believe that pirates caused financial damage, even though the videos were never commercially distributed.</span></p>
<p>Based on these and other allegations, the U.S. prosecution has reached&nbsp;a rather damning conclusion.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;In summary, Hansmeier was greedy, arrogant, devious, mendacious, and consistently positioned other people to be damaged by his conduct, even as he enjoyed the proceeds of the scheme he orchestrated,&#8221; it writes.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>As such, the Government is recommending that the court sentences Hansmeier to 150 months in prison, which is believed to be within the guidelines for this specific case.</p>
<p></p>


<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/5dd82891.USconc.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/USconc.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170279"/><figcaption>150 months</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The attorney for Hansmeier disagrees with this recommendation. The defense has several objections to the presentence investigation report. It, therefore, calls for a lower sentence of no more than 87 months followed by three years of supervision.</p>
<p>Hansmeier&#8217;s attorney also requests the court not to issue a fine, as restitution will be paid to those that were damaged by the settlement scheme.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Either way, it is clear that the Prenda attorney will likely spend several years in prison.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The other defendant, John Steele, has also pleaded guilty but the Government is much more positive about his conduct following the indictment.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Steele has not shied away from the ugly truth of his crimes and the significant consequences that he faces. Unlike codefendant Hansmeier and many other similarly situated defendants, Steele has not tried to evade or minimize the extent and impact of his crimes.</span></p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">&#8220;Shortly after being charged, Steele</span> <span class="fontstyle0">met with the government, provided a truthful and complete rendition of his misconduct, and since that time has stood ready to testify against Hansmeier if called upon to do so,</span>&#8221; the prosecution adds.</p>
<p><span class="fontstyle0">Unlike Hansmeier, Steele did not fight the case. While he deserves a prison sentence, this cooperative stance should be taken into account. </span>The Government says it will issue a more specific recommendation for Steele in the future.</p>
<p>Both Prenda defendants will be sentenced at a later date.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the US Government&#8217;s sentence recommendation for Paul Hansmeier is available <a href="media/ce85fe19.hansmeier2.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/hansmeier2.pdf">here (pdf)</a> and the Government&#8217;s position on Steele&#8217;s sentencing can be found <a href="media/e2d4e624.steeleuds.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/steeleuds.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.&nbsp;</em></p><p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170311
title: Former Kinox.to & Movie4k.to Admin Freed, Tax Office Retrieves €1.75m
uri: Former-Kinox-to-Movie4k-to-Admin-Freed-Tax-Office-Retrieves-1-75
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/kmcbUFq5PgI/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/096bd33d.streamingkey.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/streamingkey.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-125426"/></figure></div>



<p>The story of pirate streaming sites Kinox.to and Movie4k.to is one of the most unusual on record.</p>



<p>Serving as a replacement for Kino.to, a site that was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kino-to-raided-in-massive-police-operation-admins-arrested-110608/">taken down</a> almost eight years ago in <g class="gr_ gr_56 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="56" data-gr-id="56">one</g> of Europe&#8217;s largest ever anti-piracy operations, Kinox.to quickly grew to become a potent successor. Three years later, however, things took a turn for the worse.</p>



<p>In October 2014, Germany-based investigators acting on behalf of the Attorney General carried out raids in several regions of the country looking for four main suspects<g class="gr_ gr_266 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep gr-progress" id="266" data-gr-id="266">.</g></p>



<p>Two of those were brothers, Kreshnik and Kastriot Selimi. Then aged 21 and 25-years-old, the pair were said to be the main operators of Kinox.to and Movie4k.to. They immediately went <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/big-pirate-sites-raided-admins-on-the-run-141027/">on the run</a>.</p>



<p>In 2017, there was a breakthrough. Younger brother Kreshnik, who by this time had reached 24, was detained after <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kinox-movie4k-admin-detained-in-kosovo-after-three-year-manhunt-170912/">handing himself over</a> to authorities in Kosovo. Little has been heard of him since.</p>



<p>Now, however, a <a href="https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/mittelstand/familienunternehmer/illegale-streamingplattform-bruder-des-mutmasslichen-betreibers-von-kinox-to-kooperiert-mit-dem-finanzamt/24149604.html?ticket=ST-1041307-gzWa3zBiGElbiHIfd13w-ap2">Handelsblatt</a> report indicates the now 26-year-old has been released from prison after spending just nine months in custody, partly in prisons in the Balkans. </p>



<p>For a man who was originally being hounded down for alleged crimes include predatory blackmail, armed robbery, extortion, arson, copyright infringement <g class="gr_ gr_17 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="17" data-gr-id="17">and</g> tax evasion, Kreshnik appears to have won over the authorities by being cooperative on the money front.</p>



<p>After making a confession, Kreshnik reportedly helped the German tax office recover around 1.75 million euros.</p>



<p>&#8220;We have therefore set the procedure for victim-offender compensation,&#8221; said prosecutor Wolfgang Klein. In this case, the victim is the tax office, Handelsblatt reports.</p>



<p>Kreshnik is now being described as playing the part of an &#8220;economically legitimate straw man&#8221; of two companies based in Hong Kong, which received funds funneled through Cyprus from advertising companies affiliated with the streaming sites.</p>



<p>As highlighted by <a href="https://tarnkappe.info/kinox-to-kreshnik-selimi-auf-freiem-fuss/">Tarnkappe</a>, much of the details concerning how the sites operated, under whose control, and when, is still up for debate. Nevertheless, both Kinox.to and Movie4k.to remain stubbornly online today, despite all the chaos several years ago.</p>



<p>What is clear, however, is that the authorities have never caught up with Kastriot Selimi, Kreshnik&#8217;s older brother. He remains on the run after four years with charges of predatory extortion, coercion, arson and tax evasion still hanging over this head. </p>



<p>Whether the police will ever detain the alleged pirate site operator will remain to be seen, but others involved in the site have indeed fallen.</p>



<p>In December 2015, Arvit O (aka “Pedro”) who handled technical issues on KinoX, was sentenced to&nbsp;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kinox-to-operator-sentenced-to-40-months-in-prison-151217/">40 months in prison</a>&nbsp;for his involvement in the site.</p>



<p>Arvit O was found guilty of copyright infringement by the District Court of Leipzig. The then 29-year-old admitted to infringing 2,889 works. The Court also found that he hacked the computers of two competitors in order to improve Kinox’s market share.</p>



<p>KinoX.to made headlines again in February 2018, for being the first pirate site to be <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-blockades-enter-germany-with-kinox-to-as-first-target-180213/">blocked by ISPs</a> in Germany. It&#8217;s been playing cat and mouse with the authorities ever since, using alternative domains and mirror sites to evade the blockades.</p>



<p> </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170332
title: France Plans to Add ‘Article 13’ to New Anti-Piracy Law This Summer
uri: France-Plans-to-Add-Article-13-to-New-Anti-Piracy-Law-This-Summe
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/MggwLXngfPA/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-131983" src="media/43240eea.franceflag.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/franceflag.png" alt="" width="277" height="182">The European Parliament sent a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-parliament-adopts-copyright-directive-including-article-13-190326/">clear signal</a> this week when it adopted the Copyright Directive.</p>
<p>While some MEPs state that they mistakenly <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190326/15193241877/enough-meps-say-they-mistakenly-voted-articles-11-13-that-vote-should-have-flipped-eu-parliament-says-too-bad.shtml">pushed the wrong button</a> on the close vote to allow changes to the text, the ultimate vote was clear.</p>
<p>With 348 votes in favor, 274 against, and 36 abstentions, Parliament adopted the Copyright Directive, unchanged. There is still a small chance that negotiations could be reopened if the Council doesn&#8217;t approve, but that&#8217;s really the last straw.</p>
<p>The French Government, however, is done waiting and is moving full steam ahead.</p>
<p>In a speech at the<a href="https://seriesmania.com/en"> Series Mania Festival</a> in Lille, French Minister of Culture Franck Riester described the outcome of the vote as a breakthrough. Despite fierce protects, Europe stood tall and seized a historic opportunity to bring copyright into the digital age, he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Despite intense and unprecedented pressure from the tech giants, despite massive campaigns of misinformation on social networks, Europe has held up well. Europe has not yielded. Europe has resisted.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Minister sees the Copyright Directive as an essential piece of legislation. It won&#8217;t change anything for Internet users, he told the audience, but it will change the lives of millions of creators.</p>
<p>Article 13, which was confusingly renamed to Article 17 in the final text, will ensure that Internet platforms, YouTube in particular, will have to pay fair compensation to rightsholders.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is the first step towards greater accountability of platforms; towards a better sharing of the value that&#8217;s linked to the distribution of works online, for the benefit of creators,&#8221; Riester said.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the future, YouTube will have to correctly compensate the creators whose works are broadcast on its platform,&#8221; the Minister added.</p>
<p>France could have implemented similar legislation without Europe. However, the Minister of Culture stresses that a Europe-wide agreement is important. Large Internet platforms can&#8217;t circumvent that by simply blocking a single country.</p>
<p>With backing from the European Parliament, France now plans to move forward, without wasting any time.</p>
<p>&#8220;I want us to transpose the Copyright Directive and enter it into force as soon as possible,&#8221; Riester noted.</p>
<p>Most of the text will be transposed into the new &#8216;Audiovisual law,&#8217; an anti-piracy law which the Government expects to present this summer. This includes including Article 13/17.</p>
<p>Under the article, many for-profit Internet platforms are required to license content from copyright holders. If that is not possible, they have to ensure that infringing content is taken down and not re-uploaded to their services.</p>
<p>While &#8216;upload filters&#8217; are not specifically mentioned, that&#8217;s what most opponents fear. In his speech, the Minister doesn&#8217;t mention upload filters either. However, <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190327/17141241885/after-insisting-that-eu-copyright-directive-didnt-require-filters-france-immediately-starts-promoting-filters.shtml">he does reference</a> the Government&#8217;s &#8220;mission to promote and supervise content recognition technologies.&#8221;</p>
<p>The French news site NextInpact <a href="https://www.nextinpact.com/news/107737-directive-droit-dauteur-lettre-mission-sur-reconnaissance-contenus.htm">reports</a> that this mission will be entrusted to <a href="https://hadopi.fr/">Hadopi</a>, the National Film Center, and the Superior Council of Literary and Artistic Property (CSPLA). Interestingly, the mission letter is dated March 1st, long before this week&#8217;s vote.</p>
<p>Besides transposing the Copyright Directive into national law, the French will also propose a variety of other anti-piracy measures in the new Audiovisual law. According to Riester, it will help to &#8220;relaunch the fight against piracy.&#8221;</p>
<p>France has been on the anti-piracy enforcement frontline for years and was the first country to introduce a &#8216;three strikes&#8217; system for file-sharers. Today, however, most piracy is streaming related, which requires a different approach.</p>
<p>Since classic pirate sites are not going to comply with any laws, France will introduce a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/french-minister-of-culture-calls-for-pirate-streaming-blacklist-180423/">national blacklist</a> to target the streaming piracy epidemic.&nbsp; This blacklist will cover clearly infringing sites, while making sure that these are not accessible through mirrors either.</p>
<p>The final text of the new anti-piracy law is expected to be introduced this summer.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170225
title: Will Piracy-Focused Torrent & Streaming Sites Be Affected by Article 13/17?
uri: Will-Piracy-Focused-Torrent-Streaming-Sites-Be-Affected-by-Article-1
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Th6TgvsKAf0/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/8eded133.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-136985"/></figure></div>



<p>After the EU Parliament rubber-stamped Article 13 (renamed Article 17 in the final text) this week, speculation began in some media outlets that this signals the end of The Pirate Bay, &#8216;pirate&#8217; streaming sites, and &#8216;pirate&#8217; Kodi addons.</p>



<p>Copyright law is complex, as the recent controversies over the Copyright Directive have firmly underlined, but a fairly detailed outline can be found in the adopted text <em>(<a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-2019-0231+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN">pdf</a>)</em> published this week. </p>



<p>Teams of professional lawyers working for legal and mostly corporate platforms will undoubtedly spend hundreds of hours going through the text to fully understand what the future holds for various platforms that will <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">defined</g> as Online Content-Sharing Service Providers under the Directive.</p>



<p><strong>What is an Online Content-Sharing Service Provider?</strong> </p>



<p><em>To begin, we can presume that most public torrent sites that operate like The Pirate Bay do not store content (only links to content) and most illicit Kodi add-ons are reliant upon sites that do host content &#8211; some or potentially most of it illegal.</em> </p>



<p>&#8220;The definition of an online content-sharing service provider laid down in this Directive should target only online services that play an important role on the online content market by competing with other online content services, such as online audio and video streaming services, for the same audiences,&#8221; the document reads.</p>



<p>One can argue, strictly in this context, that both torrent and hosting/streaming sites (especially with piracy ambitions) fit that definition, but let&#8217;s continue.</p>



<p>&#8220;The services covered by this Directive are services, the main or one of the main purposes of which is to store and enable users to upload and share a large amount of copyright-protected content with the purpose of obtaining profit therefrom, either directly or indirectly, by organising it and promoting it in order to attract a larger audience, including by categorising it and using targeted promotion within it,&#8221; the final text reads.  </p>



<p>Again, while torrent sites organize and promote links to content, they tend not to store it, but hosting and cyberlocker-type sites do. On the other hand, most platforms commonly used by pirates in the latter two categories don&#8217;t always organize and promote content on their platforms. This obviously excludes dedicated &#8216;pirate&#8217; streaming portals that often display content in a Netflix-style interface.</p>



<p>So how is it determined whether a platform can be considered an Online Content-Sharing Service Provider under the Directive?</p>



<p>&#8220;The assessment of whether an online content-sharing service provider stores and gives access to a large amount of copyright-protected content should be made on a case-by-case basis and should take account of a combination of elements, such as the audience of the service and the number of files of copyright-protected content uploaded by the users of the service,&#8221; the text adds.</p>



<p>Again, this is open to legal interpretation but it seems that most hosting platforms that are dedicated to piracy will have servers packed with pirated content. They will also be heavily frequented by pirates. As a result, such services will always be viewed as pirate sites by rightsholders and treated as such, i.e with contempt.</p>



<p>This means that even if platforms do appear to qualify to be labeled as an Online Content-Sharing Service Provider, major rightsholders will never legitimize them by striking content licensing deals as required under Article 13 (now 17). First-run movies, for example, are simply impossible to license.</p>



<p>On the flip side, dedicated &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites themselves are extremely unlikely (even if they could) to begin full-scale cooperation with rightsholders to take content down and then demonstrate &#8220;best efforts&#8221; to keep it down &#8220;in accordance with high industry standards of professional diligence.&#8221; If they did, what would they offer? </p>



<p>While some hosting sites do have takedown regimes, in the majority of cases rightsholders see &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites as criminal operations that unfairly compete with their businesses.</p>



<p>The bottom line is that under existing EU law, piracy-focused torrent and cyberlocker-type sites are already operating outside the law. One only has to look at the various blocking orders around Europe that have declared The Pirate Bay &#8211; and sites like it &#8211; to be illegal.</p>



<p>Scooping platforms like this into Article 13 (now 17) doesn&#8217;t seem to be the key intention of rightsholders. The idea was to close the so-called &#8220;Value Gap&#8221; and the gap between paying something (in YouTube&#8217;s case) and paying absolutely nothing (in the case of torrent and streaming sites) is a gap that cannot be bridged.</p>



<p>There may be some borderline cases open for legal debate and even negotiation but, at the moment, there are bigger fish to fry &#8211; YouTube and YouTube-like sites, in particular.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_54 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="54" data-gr-id="54">Ad</g>ditionally, the Directive also includes a note that &#8220;to ensure a high level of copyright protection&#8221; the liability mechanism in the Directive &#8220;should not apply to service providers the main purpose of which is to engage in or to facilitate copyright piracy. &#8220;</p>



<p>There is still a lot of water to go under the bridge before the dust settles on this momentous occasion but it seems safe to say that the operators of The Pirate Bay and similar sites won&#8217;t really be extra-worried about Article 13/Article <g class="gr_ gr_56 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="56" data-gr-id="56">17,</g> because they&#8217;re on the wrong side of existing law already.</p>



<p>TorrentFreak sought the opinion of Tim Kuik, the boss of Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN, who has more experience than most when it comes to taking action against pirate sites.</p>



<p>We put it to him the theory that these kinds of platforms probably won&#8217;t be too affected by this week&#8217;s events, because they are already illegal under existing law, are unlikely to want to &#8220;go straight&#8221;, and <g class="gr_ gr_40 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="40" data-gr-id="40">rightsholders</g> wouldn&#8217;t license or cooperate with them anyway.</p>



<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll keep it short,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I agree.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170030
title: Court Orders ‘Jailbroken’ PS4 Seller to Pay $16,800 in Damages
uri: Court-Orders-Jailbroken-PS4-Seller-to-Pay-16-800-in-Damages
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/5lzGcb1ylTU/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170054" src="media/aa543881.ps4-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ps4-1.jpg" alt="" width="290" height="185">Sony&#8217;s PlayStation 4 (PS4) console has remained &#8216;piracy free&#8217; for years, but last year things changed.</p>
<p>Following up on some earlier experiments, the release of a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/new-ps4-jailbreak-hits-firmware-4-55-excites-the-masses-180228/">jailbreak version</a>&nbsp;brought PS4 piracy to the masses.</p>
<p>Copied games were suddenly being shared all over the Internet.&nbsp; And for those who preferred not to do any tinkering themselves, it wasn&#8217;t hard to find a jailbroken console for sale, often with dozens of games included.</p>
<p>Sony Interactive Entertainment (Sony) was not happy with this change of momentum. Although the jailbreak couldn&#8217;t be easily undone, the Japanese gaming giant&nbsp;did take the matter to court.</p>
<p>In a case filed at a federal court in California last October, Sony accused&nbsp;a local resident of offering jailbroken PS4s for sale, filled with pirated games.&nbsp;According to the complaint, defendant Eric Scales used the handle “Blackcloak13” to sell the consoles preloaded with pirated games on eBay.</p>
<p>The man was further accused of running a separate&nbsp;<a href="http://foxhoundoutfitters.wixsite.com/ps3-jailbreak-mods">website</a> (now offline) where he advertised his services and products. The website stated that he’d been jailbreaking and modding consoles for more than a decade, and encouraged people to “stop buying games.”</p>
<p>Despite the allegations and possible damages, Scales did not respond to the complaint. This left Sony with no other option than to file for a default judgment, which United States District Judge Jesus Bernal signed last week.</p>
<p>The court agreed that the requested amount of damages &#8211;&nbsp; $800 for two consoles and $200 for each of the 76 pre-installed pirated video games &#8211; is appropriate in this case.</p>
<p>&#8220;Sony may seek a maximum recovery of $390,000 in statutory damages for DMCA violations concerning the two modified consoles as well as the 76 pre-loaded unauthorized game copies,&#8221; the order reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;Accordingly, the sum of money at stake is appropriate, as Sony requests $16,800 in statutory damages. This factor weighs in favor of granting the Motion.&#8221;</p>
<p>As requested, the damages were not issued for copyright infringement but for circumventing technical protection measures, which violates&nbsp;<span class="fontstyle0">Sony’s rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>The PS4 consoles were modded in such a way that they could circumvent anti-piracy measures. This is a classic case of a circumvention product. In addition, Judge Bernal also agreed with Sony that the pirated games can be seen as circumvention products.</p>
<p>&#8220;Even though Sony provides no citation to support its contention that the unauthorized game copies are also circumvention products, the Court is persuaded that the unauthorized game copies qualify as circumvention products,&#8221; Judge Bernal writes.</p>
<p>In addition to the damages, the court also issued a permanent injunction which prohibits Scales from developing, marketing, and selling any infringing PS4 games or code. Nor is he allowed to offer any jailbreaking or modding services and products related to the PS4.</p>
<p>Sony also requested a more broadly worded ban on infringing Sony&#8217;s copyrights or violating the DMCA&#8217;s circumvention restrictions for Sony products, but this was rejected for being overbroad.</p>
<p>All in all, however, the judgment is definitely a setback for Scales. In addition to the injunction and the <span class="fontstyle0">$16,800 in statutory damages, he must also pay $1,608 in attorneys’ fees, and $1,</span>2<span class="fontstyle0">50 in costs.</span></p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em></p>
<p><em>A copy of the default judgment issued by&nbsp; <span class="fontstyle0">United States District Judge</span>&nbsp;Jesus Bernal is <a href="media/4bef2ffb.scalesorderdefault.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/scalesorderdefault.pdf">available here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170392
title: French ISPs Ordered to Block Sci-Hub and LibGen
uri: French-ISPs-Ordered-to-Block-Sci-Hub-and-LibGen
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/RWGjaAGkA9s/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-148552" src="media/a00bfc67.sci-hub1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sci-hub1.png" alt="" width="225" height="281">By offering free access to millions of &#8216;paywalled&#8217; research papers, <a href="http://sci-hub.tw/">Sci-Hub</a> is often described as “The Pirate Bay of Science”.</p>
<p>The site is used by researchers from all over the world, to access papers they otherwise have a hard time accessing.</p>
<p>Academic publishers are not happy with the service. They see the site as a threat to their multi-billion dollar businesses and have tried to shut it down through several <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/elsevier-cracks-down-on-pirated-scientific-articles-150609/">lawsuits</a>.</p>
<p>While Sci-Hub lost its US court battles against Elsevier and the American Chemical Society, the site didn&#8217;t fold. Instead, all the media attention only appeared to make the site even more popular.</p>
<p>This left the publishers with few other options than to have the site blocked by ISPs.&nbsp; This previously happened <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bahnhof-the-isp-that-fights-for-privacy-and-a-free-internet-181225/">in Sweden</a>, for example, as well as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-pirate-bay-of-science-blocked-in-russia-over-medical-studies-181130/">Russia</a>. This month France joins the list following an order from the High Court of Paris, which also targets several Library Genesis (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Genesis">LibGen</a>) domains.</p>
<p>Following a complaint from academic publishers Elsevier and Springer Nature, Internet providers Bouygues, Free, Orange, and SFR have been ordered to block access to Sci-Hub and LibGen sites for the year to come.</p>
<p>In its decision, picked up by <a href="https://www.nextinpact.com/news/107689-les-principaux-fai-francais-doivent-bloquer-sci-hub-et-libgen.htm">Next INpact</a>, the French court ruled that the two sites &#8220;clearly claim to be pirate platforms rejecting the principle of copyright and bypassing publishers&#8217; subscription access portals.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan, who had no say in the matter, is disappointed with the outcome. While she believes that the blockade will have &#8220;some effect,&#8221; those who are determined to access it still have plenty of options to bypass it.</p>
<p>&#8220;The blockade will have some effect, though not very profound. The people who are using Sci-Hub because they need access to research can still unblock it using VPN, TOR and etc,&#8221; Elbakyan informs TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>The court order targets a total of 57 domain names, including various mirror sites. The academic publishers had asked the court for a more flexible blocklist, which they could update whenever new domains would become available, but this was denied.</p>
<p>If the publishers want to expand the blocklist, they will have to go back to court. This ensures that there remains judicial oversight over local website blockades.</p>
<p>Also, a request for a specific IP-address block was denied. The court sided with the ISPs, who argued that they should have the freedom to choose their own blocking method, including DNS blocking. That does mean, however, that the ISPs will also have to bear the costs.</p>
<p>Sci-Hub&#8217;s founder is not happy with yet another blockade but also highlights a positive note. The verdict made &#8220;Sci-Hub&#8221; a trending topic in France, which has made even more people aware of the site.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Elbakyan <a href="https://twitter.com/Sci_Hub/status/1111971409226592257">believes</a> that there should be no mechanism for courts or governments to mandate website blockades, particularly against a site that provides free access to research, which is used by some of the smartest people in the world.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s interesting that, although many French researchers are using Sci-Hub and see nothing wrong in it, this fact doesn&#8217;t affect law and court decisions, which is somehow fundamentally wrong,&#8221; Elbakyan tells us.</p>
<p>&#8220;Researchers are considered to be smartest people, and the government should take their opinion into account &#8211; which is not happening.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s unlikely that France will issue a ban on site-blocking anytime soon, whether it&#8217;s research related or not. On the contrary, the Government has plans to expand its site-blocking capabilities in the near future by implementing a national<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/france-plans-to-add-article-13-in-new-anti-piracy-law-this-summer-190329/"> pirate site blocklist</a>.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</em><br>
<em>A copy of the order requiring ISPs to block access to the Sci-Hub and LibGen domains is available <a href="media/a108d741.scihuborder.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/scihuborder.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170200
title: Canadian ISPs: Standardize Copyright Notices, Fine & Defeat Trolls
uri: Canadian-ISPs-Standardize-Copyright-Notices-Fine-Defeat-Trolls
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/v_YZSymJIbk/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright"><img src="media/4d2ce87e.canada.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/canada.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60888"/></figure></div>



<p>Internet users who download and share copyrighted content are prone to being tracked.</p>



<p>If a copyright owner or its agents see such transfers, it&#8217;s possible they&#8217;ll follow this up to prevent further infringement, as is their right under the law in most major jurisdictions.</p>



<p>In <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">Canada</g> this is also the case. Under the country&#8217;s &#8216;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canadian-isps-vpns-now-alert-pirating-customers-150102/">notice-and-notice</a>&#8216;     regime, copyright holders are granted permission to send complaints to users&#8217; ISPs, who are then required to forward them to their customers.</p>



<p>However, after abuse by some copyright holders, last year the government stepped in with new rules. Such notices can no longer contain offers to pay cash to make supposed lawsuits go away, via an embedded hyperlink or other means. Neither can they demand a user&#8217;s personal details.</p>



<p>Unfortunately the new rules &#8211; as predicted &#8211; are being abused by companies who feel the law doesn&#8217;t apply to them.</p>



<p>As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canadas-new-anti-abuse-copyright-notice-rules-are-being-ignored-190307/">reported</a> by TF earlier this month, anti-piracy outfit Digital Millennium Forensics (a Canada-based company), in conjunction with Elevation Pictures, is continuing to send notices that breach all of the rules, especially the demands for cash settlement.</p>



<p>Since the publication of our article, TF has received numerous additional copies of notices sent to even more customers of Eastlink, the ISP featured in the piece. The government says that ISPs don&#8217;t have to pass abusive notices on but Eastlink told us they don&#8217;t have the capability to filter them out, since there are so many of them.</p>



<p>Since then, the flow has continued. TorrentFreak has received even more copies of abusive notices sent by Digital Millennium Forensics and forwarded by other ISPs. They include Shaw, one of Canada&#8217;s most prominent providers, through to Xplornet, the country&#8217;s &#8220;leading supplier&#8221; of rural high-speed Internet.</p>



<p>In Shaw&#8217;s emails to customers, the company acknowledges that &#8220;<g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4"><g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="4" data-gr-id="4">a notice</g></g> does not necessarily mean that you have in fact infringed copyright or that you will be sued for copyright infringement&#8221;, adding that it is &#8220;unaware of the full details and merit of the infringement claim.&#8221; It also adds the following important text:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>The Notice and Notice regime does not impose any obligation on an internet user who receives a notice of alleged infringement to do anything or to contact the copyright owner or its representative who is alleging infringement. More particularly, there is no legal obligation to make any settlement payment requested by a copyright owner. Such settlement proposals are sometimes included in a notice.  </em></p></blockquote>



<p>While this is perfectly accurate information, the company still forwards abusive notices to its customers when the law does not require it to do so. The same can be said of both Eastlink and Xplornet, with the latter noting the following:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>In accordance with section 41.26(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, an Internet  Service Provider (ISP) is required to forward any notice received from  the copyright holder in a work (such as music, videos, books or games)  alleging infringement of that work in connection  with the Internet or other digital networks.&nbsp; As a result, we are forwarding to you the attached notification related to your account.<br> <br>We are unaware of the details or merits of this infringement claim. If you have questions concerning this matter, please contact the copyright holder directly using the contact information in the attached notice.</em> </p></blockquote>



<p>This statement is problematic. While <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/section-41.26.html">41.26(1)(a)</a> does indeed require an ISP to forward a notice, the notice must also comply with <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/section-41.25.html">41.25(2) and (3)</a> to be valid &#8211; and parts 3(a) and 3(c) prohibit notices that include settlement demands or links to the same.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="media/f83549e3.canada-prohibit.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/canada-prohibit.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170219"/><figcaption>The rules are crystal clear</figcaption></figure>



<p>Furthermore, part 3(b) also prohibits demands for &#8220;personal information&#8221; (this is because the government wants to protect consumers) yet the advice from Xplornet is for customers with questions to contact the sender of the already abusive notice in person. This is not contrary to the law but does raise more problems. </p>



<p>While the ISP is correct in noting that it can&#8217;t help with the details of the complaint, subscribers who contact the anti-piracy company directly will invariably give up their anonymity and with claims like this, that rarely turns out well. The law is clear &#8211; consumers do not have to respond in any way to these notices. </p>



<p>Unfortunately, Xplornet did not respond to TorrentFreak&#8217;s request for comment. Shaw Communications did, however, and a spokesperson indicated that it&#8217;s aware of the issue and is calling for measures against senders of abusive notices.</p>



<p>&#8220;Unfortunately, some rightsholders and their representatives may continue to disregard the requirements of the notice-and-notice regime. Shaw makes it clear to our customers that they are not obligated to comply with settlement demands,&#8221; Shaw said in its response.</p>



<p>&#8220;At the same time,  we are urging the introduction of measures in the <em>Copyright Act</em> to end this practice – such as monetary penalties applicable to rightsholders who issue notices that include settlement demands or other prohibited content.&#8221; </p>



<p>A deterrent is apparently necessary in this case since it seems clear that companies like Digital Millennium Forensics and Elevation Pictures have little respect for the new rules. Not to mention that ISPs don&#8217;t appear to have any choice but to keep sending abusive notices to their customers.</p>



<p>TekSavvy, an ISP with a reputation for standing up for its customers, told TF that the problem is so big and the potential liabilities so huge, ISPs are terrified to intervene in the notice-sending process<g class="gr_ gr_250 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="250" data-gr-id="250">.</g></p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_250 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="250" data-gr-id="250">The</g> company says that it faces similar issues to those that have been highlighted in Europe recently &#8211; how is it possible to deploy copyright filters 100% accurately?</p>



<p>&#8220;TekSavvy receives hundreds of thousands of notices from scores of senders in dozens of formats that change frequently. In order to comply with the Notice and Notice obligations, ISPs have had to develop automated tools that can assess whether each notice is compliant before forwarding it, with potentially huge liability if we do not forward compliant notices,&#8221; a spokesperson said.</p>



<p>&#8220;Notice forwarding is an expensive and difficult service TekSavvy provides to rightsholders at no cost, and for which we are expected to provide a 100% service level. This has created a problem in Canada similar to the concerns we have constantly heard over Article 13 (now 17) in the EU.</p>



<p>&#8220;The obligation to filter out noncompliant notices amounts to a requirement that ISPs have perfect algorithms, but there is no standard right now that any algorithm could work from,&#8221; TekSavvy added.</p>



<p>Professor Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, agrees that there are issues with the system.</p>



<p>&#8220;The problem is that the government’s approach does not penalize sending settlement notices via this system. Instead, it merely states that ISPs are not obligated to send such notices,&#8221; Geist told TF.</p>



<p>&#8220;However, given that ISPs are still required to send compliant notices under threat of penalty, many ISPs will send all notices because it is too difficult to manually distinguish between compliant and non-compliant notices.&#8221;</p>



<p>Like the ISPs, Geist says there are potential solutions, such as the standardization of notices or establishing penalties for sending non-compliant notices, as suggested by Shaw. As things stand, however, things are likely to continue as they are.</p>



<p>&#8220;There is real concern that rights holders will continue to send settlement demands knowing that many will still be passed along,&#8221; Geist added.</p>



<p>There is hope, however. Canada is currently working on a Statutory Review of the Copyright Act, with ISPs such as Shaw, Bell, and Rogers &#8211; supported by Google &#8211; calling for (among other things) the standardization of notices.</p>



<p>&#8220;The Government should use its existing authority to enact regulations requiring that notices be submitted electronically in a form that is based on the ACNS 2.0. Mandating the use of these standards will eliminate the risk of ISPs forwarding non-compliant notices,” their umbrella group Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright (BCBC) <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isps-call-for-piracy-notice-standard-to-deal-with-millions-of-warnings-190111/">says</a>.</p>



<p>TekSavvy told TF that Internet users who want to contribute to this change should take the opportunity to write to their MPs and the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, who oversees the Copyright Act.</p>



<p><g class="gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="6" data-gr-id="6">Worringly</g>, it also warned that customers who receive non-compliant notices in the interim may be having their privacy breached.</p>



<p>When copyright notices are sent to ISPs, they store information about that complaint in order to identify alleged infringers, should that be necessary in the future. Due to the problems highlighted above, <em>this happens even when a notice is abusive and non-compliant</em>. For concerned customers, there is a solution, however.</p>



<p>&#8220;To address that privacy risk, until a standard is adopted, customers can contact us if they receive a notice that includes a settlement offer or that is otherwise not compliant with the Copyright Act, and we can remove the preserved information from our systems,&#8221; TekSavvy confirmed.</p>



<p>In summary, Canada-based users who receive an offer to settle in a copyright complaint do not have to contact the copyright holder and do not have to pay any settlements. They should, however, contact their ISP to ensure that the notice is scrubbed from the record and deleted from their account.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170419
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 04/01/19
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-04-01-19
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8TUwQKWnKSE/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-170422" src="media/a066da5b.traindragon.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/traindragon.png" alt="" width="300" height="187">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a>&nbsp;for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-on-bittorrent-03-25-19/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2386490/">How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2386490/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLTDtbYmdWM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701182/">Bumblebee</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701182/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcwmDAYt22k">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">Aquaman</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmqJJqFX_CU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">8.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860242/">The Highwaymen</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860242/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH6vC-BBKOc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959026/">The Mule</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959026/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QksSzK7sI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643972/">Triple Threat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643972/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1lO_WR-S9U">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/">Captain Marvel</a> (HDTS)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154664/">7.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LHxvxdRnYc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8752474/">Justice League vs the Fatal Five</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8752474/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_AlCgcH9x0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</a></td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=170413
title: Former Pirate Party Leader Asks to Be Sued Over EBook Site, Has Wish Granted
uri: Former-Pirate-Party-Leader-Asks-to-Be-Sued-Over-EBook-Site-Has-Wish-G
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HmZ0zUo7UQw/
content:
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="media/a2489c59.3geINt6a_400x400.jpg" data-original-source="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/893359655312687105/3geINt6a_400x400.jpg" alt="" width="234" height="234"/></figure></div>



<p>Travis McCrea a, the former leader of the Pirate Party of Canada, has been involved in the pirate activist arena for many years.</p>



<p>While many of his counterparts have faded out of the limelight, McCrea has actually upped the tempo in recent years, with a particular focus on the eBook arena.</p>



<p>After launching TUEBL (The Ultimate eBook Library), McCrea went on to grab headlines with eBook.bike, a relatively new user-uploaded content venture focusing on the same niche.</p>



<p>Early March, opposition to McCrea&#8217;s site hit a peak, with authors lining up on Twitter to berate the entrepreneur. McCrea <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/former-pirate-party-leader-trolls-authors-to-push-traffic-to-ebook-site-190306/">admittedly</a> stoked things up, apparently making matters worse but as a side-effect, increasing visitor numbers to his site.</p>



<p>In the middle of last month, McCrea <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/travis-mcrae-sue-me-over-ebook-site-i-want-the-bs-over-done-with-190316/">told</a> TorrentFreak that he would be happy if someone actually sued him.</p>



<p>&#8220;My statement remains what it always was. I want someone to sue me. I want to win that case and then have legal precedent which should let me start finding ad partners, not having to deal with as much BS,” he told TF.</p>



<p>McCrea didn&#8217;t have to wait long. In a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas, author John Van <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">Stry</g> is now suing McCrea and alleged business partner Francisco <g class="gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="6" data-gr-id="6">Humerto</g> Dias (doing business as &#8216;Frantech Solutions&#8217;) for direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement.</p>



<p>While McCrea and Dias are both Canada residents, the suit alleges that the US Court in question has jurisdiction because Ebook.bike and hosting provider Frantech &#8220;allows for and does reproduce&#8221; copies of copyrighted works without a license into Texas, despite being issued with <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">notice</g> of infringement.</p>



<p>The suit claims that both defendants are also vicariously liable for the infringements of Ebook.bike users, since they had knowledge of direct infringement and each &#8220;materially contributed&#8221; by providing hardware and/or software platforms which &#8220;encouraged and facilitated&#8221; copyright infringement in Texas for &#8220;material gain&#8221;.</p>



<p>The plaintiff,  author John Van Stry, claims to have begun writing in 2011 and by 2015 was a full-time author living solely off the royalties <a href="http://vanstry.net/vanstry/">from his books,</a> including under the penname Jan <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">Stryvant</g>. Seventeen of his books are said to have become number one best-sellers on Amazon.</p>



<p>When switching to the defendants, the suit inevitably trawls the archives in respect of Travis McCrea.</p>



<p>&#8220;Mr. McCrea has a long and proud history of pervasive, blatant, and egregious violations of other persons’ intellectual property rights,&#8221; it states, noting that McCrea became the leader of the Pirate Party of Canada in 2011.</p>



<p>&#8220;Mr. McCrea boasted that he &#8216;pirates&#8217; movies by downloading through torrents or <g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7"><g class="gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="7" data-gr-id="7">usenet</g></g>, that his media piracy &#8216;isn’t theft,&#8217; and stated that he will continue his piracy downloading until the media is offered to him at what he considers a fair and accessible price,&#8221; it notes, adding: &#8220;Mr. McCrea is literally the poster child of abusers of struggling authors..&#8221;</p>



<p>Given McCrea&#8217;s activities over the years, the suit isn&#8217;t light on background information. It claims that in 2013, the entrepreneur admitted to running a site called Library Pirate, which instructed students on how to scan their own books and upload them to the site. The same year, McCrea allegedly launched TUEBL, a site not dissimilar to Ebook.bike.</p>



<p>&#8220;[O]n or about the beginning of 2013, Mr. McCrea boasted on <g class="gr_ gr_25 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="25" data-gr-id="25">tubel</g> [sic] of having 7 thousand authors and 24 thousand books available. And, in about six months, his self-reported numbers were up to 32 thousand books, and 13 thousand authors, having their books downloaded over 9.5 million times.&#8221;</p>



<p>Given that McCrea was born in the United States and is being sued there, it&#8217;s no surprise that the takedown provisions of the DMCA feature prominently in the complaint. McCrea is on the record as saying that since he&#8217;s in Canada he doesn&#8217;t have to abide by the terms of the DMCA, but does so since it&#8217;s a recognized system.</p>



<p>However, the suit suggests that when running TUEBL, McCrea required senders of takedown notices to prove (beyond a mere statement) that they own the works in question via &#8220;scanned or faxed hand-signed letters&#8221; while refusing to accept emailed notices.</p>



<p>The complaint also alleges that McCrea claimed that user donations to TUEBL would be tax deductible since they would be made to a church &#8211; &#8220;The Kopimist Church of Kopimism&#8221;. Indeed, McCrea did register such a church as a Religious Non-Profit Corporation in Idaho in 2012 and became its &#8216;Reverend&#8217;, before changing roles in 2014.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="media/d0ea4f67.reverend-mcrea.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/reverend-mcrea.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170426" width="600"/><figcaption>From the complaint</figcaption></figure>



<p>While the notion of a religion based on piracy certainly isn&#8217;t new (a<g class="gr_ gr_41 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="41" data-gr-id="41">nother</g> &#8216;branch&#8217; of  the Church of Kopimism was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/file-sharing-recognized-as-official-religion-in-sweden-120104/">officially recognized</a> in Sweden during 2012) the suit offers documentation that donations to TUEBL would be used to buy a plane, so the site could &#8220;provide rapid response to places in the US and Canada who might have communication problems due to censorship or natural disaster.&#8221;</p>



<p>The fact that McCrea now has a photograph of himself on Twitter next to a plane (a 1967 PIPER PA-28-140 which was <a href="https://uk.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N9689W">registered</a> to the Kopimist Church of Idaho in 2014) seems to give weight to the claim of where at least some of the donations ended up.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="media/9042d7c6.mcrea-plane.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/mcrea-plane.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170427"/><figcaption>The plane in question</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Around 19-pages into the complaint, it addresses the current issue &#8211; that of Ebook.bike. The platform serves the same &#8220;function and mission&#8221; as TUEBL, the complaint notes, adding that McCrea admits to running it.</p>



<p>&#8220;Mr. McCrea’s eBook.Bike solicits visitors of the site to upload books to the website and facilitates such uploading with an interface where anonymous visitors to the website can simply &#8216;drag and drop&#8217; a file which contains an entire book.</p>



<p>&#8220;There is no message, warning, or other instruction on the upload page that persons should not share copyrighted works or works for which they do not own the copyright,&#8221; it adds.</p>



<p>The complaint further alleges that after upload, McCrea categorizes books and links metadata to render them searchable by category, author, title, or tag, while adding covers and other information. This, plaintiff adds, helps to drive traffic to Ebook.bike&#8217;s yet-to-be-launched <a href="https://mailchi.mp/06be0324852b/ebookbikestore">online store</a> selling &#8220;reading accessories.&#8221;</p>



<p>Van <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="4" data-gr-id="4">Stry</g> says that Ebook<g class="gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="6" data-gr-id="6">.<g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">bike</g></g> makes &#8220;at least twelve&#8221; of his works available for download without his permission, along with other titles by &#8220;Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Joanne Harris, Tom Clancy, and thousands more.&#8221;</p>



<p>Van Stry claims that on March 11, 2019, he sent an email to EBook.bike asking for 15 of his books to be taken down but they remained up at the time the complaint was filed. A letter containing the same request, sent by his lawyer to the postal address on the site, produced the same result.</p>



<p>At this <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="5" data-gr-id="5">point</g> the complaint turns to Cloudflare, which provides services to Ebook.bike. The plaintiff alleges that when presented with a DMCA complaint, the company would only reveal where McCrea&#8217;s site was hosted and an associated email address at Frantech.ca.</p>



<p>Frantech allegedly failed to respond to a DMCA notice but the complaint states the sending counsel &#8220;thereafter received malicious emails through a website account that had never been used since its creation.&#8221;</p>



<p>The plaintiff claims that Frantech is run from Canada by Francisco Dias and Aldryic C’boas and &#8220;provides, or has provided, hosting services for neo-Nazi and hate groups.&#8221; The alleged connection to Ebook.bike is detailed in the image below.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img src="media/87d4be7b.ebook-bike-struct.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ebook-bike-struct.png" alt="" class="wp-image-170430" width="600"/><figcaption>From the complaint</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>&#8220;As recently as March 16, 2019, Mr. McCrea expressed, &#8216;I want someone to sue me. I want to win that case and then have legal precedent&#8217;,&#8221; the complaint cites McCrea as saying, referencing a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/travis-mcrae-sue-me-over-ebook-site-i-want-the-bs-over-done-with-190316/">TorrentFreak article</a>.  </p>



<p>&#8220;His wish has been granted,&#8221; Van Stry&#8217;s legal team write.</p>



<p>The complaint concludes with claims for direct, contributory and vicarious infringement, while demanding a preliminary injunction against the defendants and a trial by jury. If statutory damages are deemed appropriate, the complaint demands up to $150,000 per infringement.</p>



<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, McCrea says that he hasn&#8217;t yet been served with the complaint but will be fighting his corner.</p>



<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m happy to prove that what I&#8217;m doing is legal in court. The complaint that I have seen has so many false allegations I could write a novel, distribute it on ebook bike, and make a killing because ebook bike doesn&#8217;t hurt sales it helps them,&#8221; he says. </p>



<p>Finally, it appears that both parties have launched GoFundMe campaigns to assist with their legal fees. However, while Van <g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="4" data-gr-id="4"><g class="gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="4" data-gr-id="4">Stry&#8217;s</g></g> <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/bring-ebookbike-to-justice">fundraiser is active</a>, McCrea informs TorrentFreak that <g class="gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="5" data-gr-id="5">his</g> was shut down by the platform.</p>



<p>&#8220;Mine was removed, GoFundMe won&#8217;t respond to my emails. I find it <g class="gr_ gr_70 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style multiReplace" id="70" data-gr-id="70">weird  that</g> people are going after a legal defense fund. If they are so confident in their positions they wouldn&#8217;t care if I was able to hire a  lawyer to defend myself,&#8221; he adds. </p>



<p>Interestingly, the case has been assigned to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, who was previously <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170921/17090738264/appeals-court-tells-patent-trolls-favorite-judge-he-cant-just-ignore-supreme-court-to-keep-patent-cases-texas.shtml">described by Techdirt</a> as &#8220;Patent Trolls&#8217; Favorite Judge&#8221;.</p>



<p><em>The full complaint can be found here (<a href="media/b542a9c6.2-19-cv-00104-JRG-Travis-McRea-eBook-Bike.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/2-19-cv-00104-JRG-Travis-McRea-eBook-Bike.pdf">pdf</a>)</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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