RSSFake MPAA-Sponsored Video Site Goes Offline
By Ed Oswald | Published July 6, 2007, 12:29 PM
A video download site that had been exposed as a front for the MPAA to catch those who download copyrighted content, as well as those who may have already downloaded it, has been taken offline.
The site, called "MiiVi," contained whole downloads of movies as well as links to a program that would apparently speed downloads from the site. However, there's a catch: the site is owned by a anti-piracy company and the software is actually a Trojan horse of sorts.
A Whois search indicates that the site is owned by MediaDefender, a company that specializes in anti-piracy solutions. The application is actually spyware and scans the hard drive for copyrighted content and then reports back to MediaDefender.
It is not immediately clear how many may have been lured in by the promise of free downloads as neither the MPAA nor MediaDefender is talking. But it appears as if publicity played a large part in its removal.
As of Friday morning, the main page had been taken down and replaced by a page from GoDaddy.com that is used as a placeholder for "parked" domains.
"It's always nice to know that sometimes good things do happen, and more importantly, that MiiVi won't be trapping any more unsuspecting users," 'soulxtc' wrote from Zeropaid.com, the blog that initially reported about the site.
What a waste of time and money....
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|If they post their own copyrighted material and you downloaded it... That shouldn't be considered stolen because they made it available to you for download right?
How can you steal something they gave you?
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|So according to the MediaDefenders response linked by Zee333 below, the MPAA should be suing MediaDefender for making illegal download links of copyrighted material available. Right?
http://www.zeropaid.com/...ake+Video+Download+Site
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|Whoa... they're really getting more vicious every time. Now they're already trying to put trojans on people's PCs. What will be next - rootkits? That case, they could ring up Sony to send some of their rootkits over.
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|Its like installing electric chair on your car as anti-theft device and leaving the doors open and keys inside.
Car analogy, works everytime. ;D
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|MPAA & MediaDefender have responded:
http://www.zeropaid.com/...ake+Video+Download+Site
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|Is that a twenty dollar bill on the ground? Go ahead and pick it up. Oh and BTW you under arrest for theft. That was really my twenty.
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|Pathetic.
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|Well it is only entrapment if the police does it, kind of like with "To catch a predator" on tv, MPAA can still file civil lawsuits to the poor stupid stupid and did I mention STUPID! people who was dumb enough to fall for this website.
And for the fact that people always talk crap about MPAA, this time they are in their rights, nobody who visited this site and downloaded can come up with the excuses of a grandma.
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|Sounds like entrapment to me. Think that argument will hold up in court?
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|I think it's one thing to catch people downloading copywritten material, it is another enticing them to do it.
That's an all time low, even for this industry that doesn't show to be capable of adapting to the times.
Lower the prices and see how many people will flock back to movie theaters.
Lower the price and see how many people will buy cd albums again.
Haven't there been enough statistics showing this by now?
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|No. Show me one statistic that says lowering the price of movies or other media will increase the profit margin for these companies.
While they may get more people seeing movies, they have run the numbers, they have market research, and they KNOW that the numbers don't add up by lowering the price.
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|Yes, judging by the way they are systematically and successfully destroying their own business, it is obvious they really know what they are doing.
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|He said the numbers didn't add up, not that had the slightest clue how to make the numbers work for them.
Big difference. Any business can easily tell how well/badly they're doing at any particular point in time. It's not being able to run the numbers. It's how they have chosen to react to them that makes people wonder exactly what caused the brain damage...
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|O M *F* G.
Just when you thought that these demons couldn't go any lower, and that it was literally impossible to do so, BAM. Demons.
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|Next they'll open up a web site hosted in russia!
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|Two things...
A> If how it was described is accurate, it is indeed entrapment. You cannot put a wad of cash on the street and wait for someone to pick it up then arrest them.
B> Sounds like they violated federal law by putting spyware on the targets machine. Any placement of a third party app without the knowledge of the computer owner, especially if it reports back information that is private and or personal in nature is in violation of federal criminal law. If i wasn't so lazy i would look it up and cite the exact code.
Sounds to me someone should grab the ball and have these SOB's charged...
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|bingo.
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|I'm no legal expert, but using pure logic I would have to say both arguments are wrong.
A> There's nothing illegal about picking up a $20 bill off the street, but there is something illegal about downloading copyrighted material for free off the internet (of course, I'm writing this after stuff like this happened: http://www.zeropaid.com/...ake+Video+Download+Site ... saying that the MPAA actually had no involvement).
B> I haven't seen the site and it's taken down now, but I'm sure they had a hidden disclaimer somewhere. In any case, anything you voluntarily put on your machine (unless the movies were force-downloaded to their computers... unlikely) is pretty much your own responsibility.
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|A. It is perfectly legal to download copyrighted content for free off of the internet. Please do not forget the many artists, musicians and otherwise, who post their content to the web for download by anyone who chooses. If the artist or whoever holds the copyright allows it, it is perfectly legal.
B. Yeah. Pretty much.
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|Billweh, that poses an interesting question, and I'm not sure how it'd hold up in court. Even if they do own the copyright and are allowing the downloads (and therefore no law is being broken), the user is never given reason to believe that the provider owns the copyright, and it's reasonable to believe the user is ATTEMPTING to break the law. I'm not sure how that would affect things, but I'm sure it'd muddy the water.
And regardless, even if they DO own the copyrights for the materials they're offering, they're still installing software without the user's consent (and if it's in the fine-print, it may make it legal but it doesn't make it right), and they're obtaining and collecting information about the user and their past activity without permission.
Besides, I've got copyrighted material on my computer that's PERFECTLY LEGAL. Who says the MPAA should get to snoop around and collect information on it? Even the GOVERNMENT doesn't (or shouldn't) get to do that unless there's some drastic issue at stake, such as if there were terrorist activity going on. There's NO WAY that an organization in the entertainment industry should get to essentially hack my computer to collect information on me.
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|Download on one pc/mac and keep it off your network through what ever means you need to.
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|This seems a lot like entrapment. I know though it sounds like an "operation implanting the suggestion of criminal activity," they could compare this to the very legal (though questionable) activity of cops posing as prostitutes. And regardless, this isn't in a court of law yet anyway.
But still, these are some pretty crappy ethics from an organization trying to police ethics. Encouraging people to download movies in order to trap them doing the very thing you're encouraging them to do is pretty low. Doing that in order to also install a trojan horse on someone's computer and gather information on past activities is disgusting.
And what good will it do? The information wasn't gained legally, so it's not like they can use it in court or use it to obtain a warrant.
I'm all for legal distribution of copyrighted materials. Yes, I actually pay for my music and movies -- supporting art is the best way to ensure it continues. But this crap is absolutely unacceptable.
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|I wonder if it would even be able to be considered illegal since they own the material that they put out for people to download for free.
To me that sounds like they were giving it away. The "price" to pay was that they would check your machine to see if you had anything else on it that you shouldn't. But for the stuff you grabbed- that was a "gift".
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|And yet if the police would do this, it would be entrapment.
I just don't know how they can tempt people with something and then complain about it. It's like opening a store that says "free heroin" and then saying, "Aha! Look who took the heroin!!"
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|only heroin is illegal, and DVDs arent =p
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