5th Circuit rules ISP should have terminated Internet users accused of piracy

submitted 3 weeks ago by Xatolos@reddthat.com

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/record-labe…

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This needs to go to the next level. Do some torrenting off of the public wifi at the courthouse and get the courthouse's internet terminated.

Laws are only for the peasants to follow

Supreme Court?

I don't think you want that. That will cause every ISP to block VPN and torrent traffic out of fear because essentially this will be "law" being established if they get their hands on it

I was referring to the courthouse where the ruling took place.

They mean the next level of courts.

They aren't suggesting that you pirate from the supreme court (although I have nothing against it)

Yes, they asked, "Supreme Court?" But I clarified that is not what I meant by next level.

I meant escalate the number of people being disconnected starting with the court that made the ruling. Or perhaps the judge wants that so as to force ISPs to be declared as utilities.

ISP's want it both ways. They want the protection of utilities without the regulations.

5th Circuit

Me: Better get ready for some bullshit.

Hey someone's gotta keep the *average IQ of a lawyer* bell curve balanced. I'm pretty sure the 5th circuit is the equivalent to "Florida Man" in the legal space.

The theory I heard on the Strict Scrutiny podcast is that the 5th Circuit exists to write atrocious opinions on terrible rulings so that the Supreme Court can make rulings that are only 85% as horrible as that so the SC can seem more reasonable by comparison.

A company "accusing" someone of piracy isn't proof. Access to the internet is almost essential these days. If you can prove a person is pirating prosecute them under the law with fines or even incarceration if warranted. But stripping internet access from someone shouldn't be seen as an acceptable punishment for a free citizen anyway.

Whoever owns the network attached to the IP address also shouldn't be responsible for actions of every user. Let's ban an entire company, college, or government institution from the internet because an IP showed up on a list... dumb ruling.

It's like turning off the electric of someone accused of growing weed. Typical conservative response

Remember to turn off their sunlight too!

And while we're at it, let's cut the wind off at their property as well, so they can't generate any local wind power!

And definitely take away their fruits and zinc and copper, so they can't build their own massive multi-lemon batteries, which they will otherwise rapidly upscale by growing even more lemons, using the same array of lemon-powered LEDs that also grew that weed, all in an infinite loop of lemon kush! We really can't let that happen.

Sony, WB, and Universal logic:

The people at that address probably use water to make meth. Cut off their water so they can’t make meth.

Or they received a USB cable, which they later used to transfer pirated files, in an envelope... Remove their mailbox! (Or force *every* postal service person to ignore it...)

So no due process, just "cut the Internet of the people we tell you to." What the fuck?

How's that plutocracy piss taste?

I'm just glad they're still distracted with torrents...

The implication of this being that I am behind the times, stuck on outdated tech, and didn't even know it is uncomfortable.

Are you guys using VCR to pirate media or something?

In 10 years we will all be downloading cars

I think USENET is having a resurgence with the cool kids? 🤷‍♂️

The irony is that what they’re talking about is even older than torrents. It’s just less heavily policed.

Ah, that makes me feel better. I've probably heard of it before, and just never looked into it.

Oh God I'm uncomfortable too now

The first rule of [REDACTED] club, y’all.

Loose lips sink ships. Don’t be *that* guy, y’all.

If this is the case then artists should be able to shut down internet access for AI companies that steal their work in those states.

It's only illegal when an individual does it, when it's a giant corporation, it's called innovation. /s

The fifth circuit believes regional monopolies should be exploited to control consumers.

With proper competition, banning someone for suspected misuse would only chase them to competitors.

The fifth circuit is incompetent.

Owch, I should start a blog. My chain of thought went from this to meshnets and presumption of innocence, and in the dispersed intersections of these to communications control and totalitarianism, and there I wrote some kind of socio-political rant (again) for a fiction book or movie.

I can't erase that much text, so it's under a spoiler tag.

spoiler

We live in a pretty usual time. We grew up in an unusual time, though, fueled by anti-colonialism, WWII experience and Cold War, and then some optimism over its end. When some kind of justice could really be had in the West and even the second world.

Soviet dissidents would use Soviet laws in Soviet courts against the Soviet system with their defenders honestly working for that goal, and the only way the system was able to confidently close them was by inventing a non-existent kind of schizophrenia and then forcibly putting them into mental institutions.

One can say those formerly privileged parts of the world are turning into some kind of Turkey as shown in Midnight Express, and hopefully the third world is moving in a different direction.

When I was 12+, I would talk pretentiously and vaguely how all this won't last and we are seeing the last decade of it in any notable form (while in fact it was dying when I was a baby), and that the solutions are in decentralization and preparation for underground communication and asymmetric warfare, keeping in mind that the enemy won't be using anything conventional or predictable either.

I think this is symmetric to why we are seeing such decay - because for information people have lost understanding that you should always read between the lines, and for justice people have lost understanding that it can never be had by the law without spending blood, sweat and tears, and that this is not end of history and neither information nor justice are something we can reliably have in any matter in any moment.

So that advice is simply about being more humane, rejecting absolutes and burning idols, and knowing there'll always be a situation where you are morally right, but the whole world, the law, the opinions, the public morale and the balance of power - they will all be against you and you should still fight and shouldn't accept it. And also that civilization is similar to Ouroboros eating its tail - you have to ruin some parts for it to live, and those parts don't want to be ruined and have that supported by laws and popular opinions ; you have to be destructive.

The culture of resistance. Something old Star Wars EU had (literally, in the WEG guidelines from 1994 PDF I have, comparing the Empire to the "civilized world" and saying that Empire's civilians generally don't feel any different and don't know about Empire's atrocities, unless they are personally affected).

The 5th circuit includes Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi so they can go fuck themselves. You think I'll live by the opinion of some backwater states? Only a corrupt supreme court would uphold this ruling-ohhh fuckity fuck fuck!

You do realize that federal judges crib notes from judges in other jurisdictions, right? As in, while this ruling probably doesn't directly effect you, if there's a similar case in your jurisdiction, they'll look at this decision and probably side with it if the facts of the case are similar enough.

so they can go fuck themselves.

They didn't need your permission. That's how they keep breaking records for lowest IQ. ;)

If they were any more inbred, they'd be a sandwich.

You are the hero we deserve. Take my upvote.

If y'all don't like it, encourage your friends in Texas to *fucking vote.* This kangaroo court gets to be the reliable Conservative rubber stamp it is, because they're appointed by whatever president is in power when vacancies become available.

Biden was able to appoint two, and Obama appointed two, Clinton one. Bush Jr. appointed four, Reagan appointed two, and Trump appointed fucking six, which explains why they *constantly* capitulate to big business.

Voting matters. There is so much at stake.

I mean yes, please vote people.

However the supreme court is stacked because Bitch McConnell is a piece of shit.

FUN FACT: Five Justices of the Supreme Court were appointed by presidents who were inaugurated despite losing the popular vote! That's a full majority! And *purely by coincidence*, all of them are Republicans! :D

...alright, obviously it's not *fun*. I can't believe the audacity some people have to act surprised and offended when people say the Court is illegitimate.

Terminated the user or the users access? Can't be too careful with wording from judges these days.

*Judge Dredd kicks down the door*

Like how a million Floridians evacuated lol

We ARE past the days of T-Model 101. Although Arnod looks a bit older these days....

Terminate the users but only the ones that were *accused*

Guilty until proven innocent is classic conservatism

This doesn't seem to be a problem in the UK. I've been pirating for years and never even received a letter from my ISP.

ISPs won't do shit that would affect their bottom line. If they play ball with this it's a slippery slope to mass cullings of their subscriber base.

In Canada, I get letters (well emails) when I rawdawg some torrents; but it's never gone further than that.

Prior to using usenet, I constantly torrented w/o a VPN (talking 10+ TB of data across 3ish years) and received a new email notice or two every other day. I've still got a folder with 60+ notices. ISP doesn't give af, they just forward the copyright notice in the form it was sent to them, and that's it.

Now though I primarily use usenet and haven't gotten a notice since. Downloads are also way way more reliable and faster.

Teksavvy lets me do precisely whatever the fuck I want, and doesn't make a peep. They collect their $80 and fuck right off until I need them.

Telus, on the other hand, can go fuck themselves with a rusty spoon. They sent me a letter and I switched ISPs within 24 hours.

Telus is the one that's sent me dozens of notices; they don't care. They just pass on the message they received and wash their hands.

rawdawg some torrents

LOL! Did you spray 1's and 0's in their face when you were done?

One of my mates has been pinged for it before, but it seems like he just got a stern letter.

I put my setup behind a VPN anyway. Proton hasn't done me wrong yet.

It is still better be on the err side and leave no trace they can use aginst.

I've had a couple of vapid emails from VirginMedia for one (Animal Kingdom) of many TV shows I've downloaded over the years.

Shame they didn't send it by snail mail, could've got some free toilet paper out of them then.

Needs to go higher.

It's not.

The 5th Circuit remanded the case to the district court for a new trial on damages. Record labels can expect a lower payout because the appeals court said they can't obtain separate damages awards for multiple songs on the same album.

Secretary KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!

These "owners" are pathetic... Get a VPN tho fuck them