1&1 believes using BitTorrent infringes copyright

[Illuminati]

Shawn sez, "I just posted this defense of Bit Torrent on my personal journal after receiving a C&D letter from my webhosting service demanding I stop sharing 'copyrighted' material, even though it's made very clear on my site that the files I host on my Blog Torrent install are my own creations (well, me and my friends, but they're all cool with it). The file in question is a short documentary about Booth Babes my wife and I made and posted on our site back in 2001, and the file that tipped them off was generated by my test install of Broadcast Machine (which has been mysteriously not working on my server)."

I don't want them to turn off my websites. And this is not any kind of civil disobedience, which would involve breaking a law. I'm just uploading my files to the Internet and trying out some technologies to facilitate this with the lowest demand on my webserver. If hosting companies apply some kind of blanket filter against .torrent files, that will seriously limit our ability to share media and content. It is completely unacceptable for web servers to do this kind of unmonitored regulation and threatening. What if I had been on vacation, couldn't respond, and they shut down my site in a week?

The hosting company in question is 1and1.

Source: Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/2005/06/03/idiot_hosting_compan.html)
Link: Elmwood Strip (http://www.elmwoodstrip.com/elmwood/blogDisplay/index.php?u=shawnr&id=90)

[RealitY]

It would seem this really isnt suprising to see as lager companies are trying to figure out where to draw the lines...

[nsane]

still, this is america, things are legal till proven otherwise. it's not up to your host what your allowed to host (unless it's obvious warez). that's like saying you could take a copyright infringing screenshot of a movie, so we stopped allowing the uploads of JPEG images :rolleyes:

edit: or, "you could run someone over with your car, so we stopped allowing you to drive it" :lol:

[Citizenhaax]

sorry to hear that. The web is no longer the wild and free place it once was. It will probably take another "web" to make it interesting again

[Illuminati]

Two updates on this news item.

The first comes from Slyck (http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=820) (who, while were a little late reporting it, gives the full picture so far :))


As news began to spread, Mr. Rider’s friends and colleagues began emailing 1and1 to question their motivation. A representative of 1and1 responded, however they appeared to have changed their story. Instead of repeating the alleged copyright violations, bandwidth concerns were cited.

“I am sorry that you feel this way. However bit torrent generates a lot of traffic and is too hard to keep under control. If we allow bit torrent on our shared system this would create a huge influx in traffic. Also even though people using the bit torrent for good purposes such a promoting there own work or whatever it might be. It is mainly used to download copyrighted files of music, video, etc. If we are allow this on our service we could have a lot of legal issues to deal with that could just be avoided. I apologize for this inconvenience again and hope you have a good day.”

Apparently, the 1and1 web host representative answering these inquiries was unaware of the characteristics of the BitTorrent protocol. Mr. Rider’s BitTorrent tracker generates virtually no bandwidth, unless you consider that each of his three torrent files total just over 1 Kilobyte each. Individuals downloading torrent files does not “allow” BitTorrent onto “their shared system” or “create a huge influx in traffic.” This traffic exists on Tier 1 ISP backbones, not on web hosting ISPs.

Interestingly, while 1and1 expressed concern regarding the “huge influx in traffic”, Mr. Rider received another email from his web host that made the situation even more bizarre.

“To add to the silliness of the situation, I received another letter I believe to be auto-generated last night. This one was from their director of online marketing and sales, and it stated that they had noticed shawnrider.com was sending a lot of traffic to 1and1.com and inquired whether I had ever considered becoming a 1and1 affiliate.”

Slyck.com emailed 1and1 web hosting and questioned the practice of using a blanket policy to deter piracy. In addition, Slyck inquired why Mr. Rider received a copyright violation notice for distributing his own work. Several hours later, we received an email from Dave Donati, 1and1’s U.S. Public Relations Manager

“In recent days a 1&1 Internet support agent incorrectly informed a customer that the use of BitTorrent(c) on certain 1&1 systems is not permitted. The support agent's statement was based on a misinterpretation of company policy and an incorrect analysis of available data. When it was determined that the customer was erroneously advised, the situation was rectified and the customer was notified that the use of BitTorrent is allowed.”

“1&1 deeply regrets any confusion this mistake has caused. To better address customer concerns on this matter in the future, we are in the process of updating the "Q&A" section of our Website to include detailed information clarifying the use of BitTorrent with our various hosting packages.”

In the end, this story ended well for Mr. Rider. However, this situation highlights the misconception that surrounds file-sharing and the P2P world. There are many uses for this technology, and just like any technology, it can be exploited for both good and bad.

The second piece is from Boing Boing, the source for the starting news

Update: Colin sez, "I thought I'd point to Hurricane Electric (http://www.he.net/faq/bittorrent.html) who actually offer a bittorrent tracker and superseed to their hosting customers which goes to show 1and1 are just talking through a hole in their hat (and Hurricane Electric actually get the net)."

Pretty interesting that an web host (although by the looks of their plans, a medium-scale web host) is now adding BitTorrent support as standard. Is the age of BitTorrent so far that it could become a direct competitor to FTP on all fronts? :)

[Samurai]

Interesting article.

I think 1&1 thought they had this guy by the balls to be honest. I still don't think they've been educated with BitTorrent though. As far as they're concerned, he was sharing his own media and that's it.

Questions should have been raised as to why did they change stories? Why did they lie and say it's using too much bandwidth, even though that's not the case?

It's undeniable but I see more companies doing this in the very near future. 1 & 1 won't be the 1st :shifty: and certainly won't be the last.