US Authorities cracking down on illegal sites

[Scotty]

We all like to be able to view our SPL games on video, preferably live video, and most of us have probably had a dodgy URL or two at some point ...... but it would seem that the US authorities are now turning up the heat.

Fresh from some high profile cases where they went after file sharing or torrent sites that were sharing software, music or movies, it seems that streaming sites showing Football are now on the radar.

We have never allowed people to post these links for various reasons ... but think I can safely say you wont be going to atdhe.net or firstrow.net any more !

[SMEE]

Unless them sites were hosted in US...what right do the yanks to seize these sites?

[Scotty]

I think they were both hosted in the US. Even if not, if the domain names were registered in the US, then it gives them the power ... and as seen with Wikileaks, once the US government juggernaut starts targetting you, or your sponsors, backers or service providers, you will fold !!!!

[SMEE]

Ah well....if the sites are hosted in the US...fair enuff...its when the yanks start playing World Police that they get right up my nose

[Scotty]

Like it or not, they are the Internet Police ...

The vast majority of legitimate websites are either hosted or registered with a domain name provider or hosting provider in the USA and many of the dodgy sites are too simply because it is cheaper to get large amounts of bandwidth and other services from a US provider than anywhere else on the globe. Yes, you can get some obscure provider or domain name from a strange country but you will pay more and ultimately everything to do with your website name runs through ICANN anyway, a corporation registered in California !

Look at CTO for example ..... Every domain name we have registered (except our .co.uk ones) is registered in the USA. Most of our hosting is in the USA although we do have one host in Canada (albeit an American company) and all the files we legitimately host - on behalf of, and with the permission of - the club are on a server in the USA. Even if we hosted solely in the UK or Canada, you can be sure that whatever we did, the US authorities would largely be able to set the rules and get other countries to go along with it. Canada & UK (other huge consumers of the Internet) will willingly follow along as "deputies" to the US Sheriff .....

The word 'sheriff' is perhaps a good one .... The Internet is indeed the electronic 'wild west' and like the early pioneer days of that era there is good, bad, and really ugly and until reasonably recently, all taking place in a largely unpoliced area.

As far as policing the internet is concerned, I have no issue with them being allowed to take the lead on cracking down on Internet crime for example. Online fraud, identity theft, all sorts of scams are perpetrated over the net and they have the resources to deal with it. Sex crimes are another area rampant on the net, be it websites, or social networking groups of people organising meetings or whatever. It is highlighted almost every week on "America's Most Wanted" and again, we have to realise that this is an international crime and if the US is to take the lead then so be it. I know that there have been lots of raids in the UK and Canada as well as the USA over the last few years and it seems that they work well with authorities in other countries to crack down on this. If they continue to clear out some of the darker corners of the internet like this then I have no issues with that kind of thing whatsoever.

I also really don't have an issue with them cracking down on Torrent, P2P or streaming sites either ... The technologies are not illegal (torrents were actually invented for a legitimate purpose believe it or not) but they have been over-run with those trying to use them for illegal purposes. I like to see the video streams as much as anyone else but would far prefer the clubs and/or SPL to get off their collective arses and organise it for the good and benefit (and profit) of our game.

Where I cannot condone the 'internet police' is when they crack down on freedom of speech but I believe the US are less guilty of this than other countries ... Witness Mubarak turning off the internet in Egypt a couple of weeks ago, or the 'Great Firewall of China' for far bigger culprits than the USA.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

I'm watching the Barcelona game on <removed> just now . Cracking stream .

Edited February 12, 2011 by Scotty
removing link to streaming site. user also removed from this thread as he didnt take the opportunity to amend the post himself (he has logged on since I posted my friendly warning)

[SMEE]

Oh....i didnt know that...had a wee peek, as that was the site i used in its previous guise....couldnt see the Barca game tho

Wonder how long before that gets shut down too?

Edited February 12, 2011 by SMEE

[Scotty]

Guys. Please don't take the piss. You know we don't allow these links so posting them under the guise of this conversation is out of order.

I will give you a short time to remove the offending link from each of your posts voluntarily. If not then we will have to moderate them and assign the appropriate sanctions alongside that moderation.

[SMEE]

I wasnt taking the ****....Honestly

PS....whats a Thai conversation?

[Scotty]

It's what the iPhone spell checker thought I meant!!!! I guess it really is intelligent .... It read your signature and must have assumed a Thai conversation edited it now ;)

[PullMyFinger]

Must have wanted a happy ending.