Usenet: The Next Target in the War on Piracy

http://torrentfreak.com//images/click-mpaa.jpg

"The first rule of Usenet is, you don’t talk about Usenet. This rule kept Usenet providers and users out of sight from anti-piracy organizations for years, but this is about to change."

"Usenet is catching up with BitTorrent in terms of popularity, partly because it is considered to be safer. However, this increased popularity also has a dark side to it, as anti-piracy organizations start monitoring newsgroups.

Tim Kuik, managing director of BREIN - the Dutch branch of the MPAA - told the Dutch news site Webwereld that the increased attention from computer magazines over the past year lowered the nerd-factor of the Usenet. Because of this it’s now become one of the main targets of anti-piracy outfits.

Kuik further said that BREIN made a blacklist of Usenet providers who structurally infringe copyright. Their plan is to urge these providers to stop their services and compensate the content owners for their losses. Some might argue that Kuik’s words are yet another loose threat to make it seem like no pirate is safe, but there is some truth in his statements.

TorrentFreak talked to an insider, who works closely with anti-piracy organizations like the MPAA and RIAA, and he also noticed that the Usenet has been getting more attention lately. “BitTorrent is still enemy number one, but there is a significant growth in Usenet monitoring”, he said. Some Usenet providers now use BitTorrent sites to advertise their services and according to our source, this is another big reason why it caught the attention of anti-piracy outfits.

The people in charge at most anti-piracy organizations hardly know how to write an e-mail, if it’s not in the media, it’s not a target. If only people kept to rule number one this probably would have never happened.

The Usenet providers are not impressed by BREIN’s strong words though. Remco Habets from Usenet provider Usenet4u said in a response: “BREIN often makes statement that lead to nothing. One and a half year ago they also said that they were going to take on newsgroups, we’ll see”

To be continued…"

:source: Source: TorrentFreak
:view: Related: Anti-Piracy Outfit to Spy On Usenet, Punish Legitimate Purchasers (Jun 8th, 2007)

/me gulps

/me thanks god that he never took the time to switch.

Never gonna happen.

I just added a related link to the top post about the "state-of-the-art one of a kind encryption technology" that can be used to track the content on newsgroups. (Dated Jun 8th, 2007 on TorrentFreak)

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Originally Posted by Hairbautt

/me thanks god that he never took the time to switch.

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switch from what? torrents?

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Originally Posted by backlash

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Originally Posted by Hairbautt

/me thanks god that he never took the time to switch.

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switch from what? torrents?

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:frusty:

Yes.

/me shrugs

I guess I missed something. :(

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Kuik further said that BREIN made a blacklist of Usenet providers who structurally infringe copyright. Their plan is to urge these providers to stop their services and compensate the content owners for their losses.

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:huh: Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

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Originally Posted by WHiCKWiRE

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Kuik further said that BREIN made a blacklist of Usenet providers who structurally infringe copyright. Their plan is to urge these providers to stop their services and compensate the content owners for their losses.

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:huh: Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

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You're not dreaming, they are. ;)

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Originally Posted by Hairbautt

I just added a related link to the top post about the "state-of-the-art one of a kind encryption technology" that can be used to track the content on newsgroups. (Dated Jun 8th, 2007 on TorrentFreak)

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Wow, what another non-story. That's not really a Usenet specific technology is it? That could just as easily be used on Bittorrent. And it only effects people who got put stuff they got from a digital source in the first place.

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The system is destined to roll out in 2008 when it is expected to make zero impact on the amount or type of material shared on Usenet.

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:happy:

A urban myth that was floating around, is the reason why USENET servers haven't been taken down in the past was because they only held yenc encoded files. Making you have to download heaps of parts to reconstruct a file.

This may have changed with USENET service providers offering automatically unarchived files, and direct downloads of archived files.

I think the industry has known about USENET, although its not as widely used so why target the minority. I had a job offer once to work for a Warner Entertainment, and they where making sure they where hiring a skilled pirater.

so if this is true who would they target?

would it be the uploaders? the actual news provider e.g. newsdemon, giganews etc. or would it be the individual who downloads from it?

I think Brein and all the rest of them are just trying to breed paranoia in regular users that download via easy means and have no concept of the scene. If the industries want to stop the flood of warez, they would have to target the scene to effectively stop the spread. They were successful in stopping some groups but others have always risen to take the fallen's place.

so you don't think they will actually go after newsgroups then?

First rule of Usenet. Do not talk about Usenet.

:shutup:

*“BREIN often makes statement that lead to nothing. One and a half year ago they also said that they were going to take on newsgroups, we’ll see”


*Abridged version


Edit yourself, Harry. Your breeding panic. Please don't vex the youth, lyke.




-bd

:mellow: I havn't even had sex.

*Lately.

:whistling

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Originally Posted by Hairbautt

:mellow: I havn't even had sex.

*Evar.

:whistling

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:dabs:



-bd

but say they did what would they do? take on the providers or the users that download or maybe the users that are uploading the content??

What's usenet :whistling

lol. never gonna happen.