If you read the 70 page federal indictment against notorious pirate cyberlocker website Megaupload, you will find this charge on page 10, section 22:
When a file is being uploaded to Megaupload.com, the Conspiracy’s automated system calculates a unique identifier for the file (called a “MD5 hash”) that is generated using a mathematical algorithm. If, after the MD5 hash calculation, the system determines that the uploading file already exists on a server controlled by the Mega Conspiracy, Megaupload.com does not reproduce a second copy of the file on that server. Instead, the system provides a newand unique URL link to the new user that is pointed to the original file already present on the server. If there is more than one URL link to a file, then any attempt by the copyright holder to terminate access to the file using the Abuse Tool or other DMCA takedown request will fail because the additional access links will continue to be available.
During my dealings with Megaupload over this past year and a half I’d long suspected as much. Time after time, I’d remove links using Megaupload’s content management tool only to see a duplicate file reappear (with a new link) minutes later. Of course, unlike federal authorities, I did not have access to the actual content residing on Megaupload’s servers, so I couldn’t really prove it.
This past fall while I was researching a pirate blog that offered illegal downloads to LGBT films, I saw that the film “Kyss Mig” was being pirated. Since it’s a film distributed by the same company (Wolfe Video) that distributes our film I notified them of the infringing link. A DMCA notice was sent and, as expected, the link was disabled. However, when I went back to the website the following day I noticed that the disabled link had been replaced by a new one. That led me to again notify Wolfe and the exercise in futility was repeated. A few days later I noticed that the link was alive yet again, but the blog owner had changed things up (to protect her download) and the link now took me to an intermediate site “undeadlink.com.”
Essentially the site offered a convenient way to regenerate links to supposedly “dead” files on Megaupload (and apparently Fileserve). If Megaupload had actually removed the infringing file when it was originally reported, this wouldn’t have been an option. However, because Megaupload apparently did exactly what is spelled out in the indictment, it was very possible (and efficient). When I discovered what was going on last fall, and that it verified my suspicions, I decided to record the process. This video documents what I found.
With established pirate hives (AKA cyberlockers) imploding, online pirate entrepreneurs are working quickly to develop new ways to keep the pirate booty flowing into their bank accounts.
Just today I received this email announcing “the next big thing” for these black market online bootleggers, a new website coming soon “made for pirates by pirates.”
Email announcing the "next best thing"
With pirates busy coming up with alternatives to Megaupload and other newly defunct cyberlockers, isn’t it time Congress gets busy to figure out effective ways to tackle this issue once and for all? Piracy for profit is a problem that won’t disappear by wishing it away. Piracy is a crime that apparently does, and will continue to pay unless action is taken to stop it.
In an earlier blog post I wrote about Piracy’s Profit Pyramid and attempted to explain how cyberlockers operated much like a pyramid scheme, a business model that’s served as a catalyst for the explosion in online piracy for profit. With the feds smacking down Megaupload, other similar sites are scurrying like cockroaches to cover their tracks. Some of the most popular cyberlocker sites (Filesonic, Fileserve, Uploading, etc.) have begun purging pirated files and have discontinued “affiliate” programs and cash payouts, leaving their pirate partners empty-handed and, consequently, very grumpy. Evidence of their growing displeasure is morphing across pirate forums around the web. The irony is beyond sweet:
Even some of the pirates can’t seem to believe the hypocrisy of their uploading peers:
Filesonic payout for piracy
These pirate forums also feature threads where thieves post screen caps of their earnings totals from various sites, in a game of “whose is bigger?.” Looking at some of profit totals (wonder if they are reporting to the IRS), it’s no wonder these mini-pirates are unhappy. Their express ride to piracy riches has suddenly turned bumpy, if not disappeared altogether. Take a look at these totals ($26, 477!) and you will see why people were so eager to join the piracy game and why they’re so unhappy to see it disappear.
Being a cyberlocker affiliate brought in the bucks.
Megaupload's demise appears to have derailed the pirate gravy train
Profits varied, from hundreds to thousands for uploading stolen content
Reaction to Megaupload’s demise has been met with disbelief and anger among those who run sites offering “shared” illegal downloads of films. Apparently they are upset that it will be more difficult to openly engage in piracy going forward (and that their bank accounts could suffer as a result). Here’s a status update (translated into English from Portuguese) from a popular Blogger-hosted site that offers infringing downloads for hundreds of films. Something may have been lost in the translation, but it appears the site’s editor is not pleased.
Pirate blog sites lament the passing of Megaupload.
They provide a cyberlocker status update for the various popular cyberlocker sites frequented by pirates and finish with this note of sadness:
What is the fate of the World Downloads?
We are all seeing the world of downloads is fading slowly, one day at a time. What we, and you fear the most visitors, is nearby.
We can not say anything, what we can do is wait and pray, that this does not pass like mere bad memories,
I guess this is what happens when your house of (pirate) cards comes crashing down.
Here’s another Blogger-hosted site that tried not to skip a beat offering visitors a “tutorial” on how to download pirated movies off another popular cyberlocker site (Wupload.com) (post is translated from Portuguese) along with the assurance: “relax, I have all the movies on a hard drive…”
Blog site offers visitors a handy How-To for another pirate cyberlocker
It seems that the Megaupload bust has cyberlocker pirates running scared. Today, I found an illegal download link for a popular indie film online.
When I loaded the download link URL in my browser to check whether the download link was still active (on cyberlocker site “Uploaded.to”) I was surprised to find that the cyberlocker site’s owners had chosen to block users in the United States from accessing the site.
This wasn’t true a week ago. Now, post-Megaupload, this is what Americans will see.
The download link has been blocked in the United States.
Of course, most tech savvy folks know that’s not much of an obstacle. I loaded the URL into an anonymous proxy server and the infringing/illegal download link was there for the rest of the world to see (and download).
Illegal links alive and well outside of the United States.
If this site had nothing to hide, why is it essentially hiding? The answer is simple, it, like dozens of other cyberlocker sites, depends on piracy (content theft) to make money. With the smack down of Megaupload these thieves are running scared and doing their best to hide. Their black market business model is in jeopardy. It’s nice to see these criminals running scared.
After a week of frenzied rhetoric spinning across the web demonizing efforts by Congress to crack down on online piracy, it was gratifying to see the indictment of those who operate the criminal enterprise known as Megaupload. I’ve much to say on the subject, and documentation that mirrors the criminal activity outlined in the indictment, but it will take a few days for me to write an in-depth piece on the subject. However, in the meantime, I’m glad I won’t be seeing this any more.
Illegal download link to our film on Megaupload.com
"Google is committed to being an industry leader in eradicating this behavior."
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” –Winston Churchill
I read with great interest the piece in today’s New York Times by Edward Wyatt entitled “Lines Drawn on Antipiracy Bills.” The article was a fairly comprehensive overview of the standoff between the tech sector and those who represent the interest of content creators (filmmakers, musicians, authors, etc.) in the debate over the”Stop Online Piracy Act” currently playing out in Washington.
I was particularly interested to read the section on Google, and how, according to those at Google, the company was very responsive when it came to enforcing copyright, etc. After all, they’d removed on more than 5 MILLION infringing links in response to DMCA notices over the years. Poor Google….never mind that number represents probably a fraction of infringing links served up by Google.
Frankly, I’m not concerned about Google’s search engine, nor have I ever sent them a DMCA requesting the removal of search results for infringing links to our film. No, the part of the article that made my head explode was this zinger offered by a Google policy counsel, Katherine Oyama, in her recent testimony before the House committee. From Wyatt’s article:
“Ms. Oyama added that Google also ejected companies from its advertising system when notified of illegal activities.”
Frankly, I was blown away by this observation and immediately jumped online to find the actual transcript from the hearing on November 16th of this year. From her testimony:
We also employ a wide array of procedures and expend considerable financial resources to prevent our advertising products from being used to monetize material that infringe copyright. For example, our AdSense program enables website publishers to display ads alongside their content. Our policies prohibit the use of this program for infringing sites, and we use automated and manual review to weed out abuse. In 2010, we took action on our own initiative against nearly 12,000 sites for violating this policy. Already in 2011, we have taken action against 12,000 more. We also respond swiftly when notified by rightsholders, and we recently agreed to improve our AdSense anti-piracy review procedures and are working together with rightsholders on better ways to identify websites that violate our policies.
Was she under oath when she made this claim? I certainly hope not. In my experience with Google over this past year and a half, nothing she said bears any resemblance to my reality. Perhaps she resides in a parallel Google-verse where the company takes copyright law and the rights of creators seriously? In my Google-verse it’s a company that seems to bend over backwards to avoid taking responsibility when it comes to the monetization of infringing content .
Over the past year and a half I’ve repeatedly sent DMCA notices to Google reporting pirate sites featuring AdSense advertising (and links to our film). While most of the links I reported were eventually removed, most infuriating was the fact that the pirate sites didn’t skip a beat and continued to display Google ads aside their myriad of pirated movie offerings. As far as I could tell–and contrary to what Ms. Oyama claimed in her testimony–these AdSense accounts (more recently camouflaged as AdChoices) were rarely, if ever, disabled by Google. To add insult to injury, in most cases I usually discovered fresh links to our film posted on those very same sites a day or two later. AdSense accounts were never disabled despite clear evidence the reported site was in business of pirating movies. In her testimony Oyama went on to state:
We will need the cooperation of rightsholders to identify and terminate our services to the sites that manage to evade our procedures. While the industry is aggressively going after this abuse, it is a cat-and-mouse game to stay ahead of the bad actors. Google is committed to being an industry leader in eradicating this behavior.
Cooperation of rights holders? Huh? I’m sorry but this heartfelt plea rings a tad hollow considering Google makes a practice of sending DMCA notices it receives to the Chilling Effects website, in a veiled effort to dissuade (intimidate) rightsholders from exercising their rights under the law. For the record, over these past months, I’ve repeatedly “cooperated” with Google and reported hundreds of infringing pirate sites displaying Google ads. I’ve tried to engage them and ask why these pirate operators are allowed to retain active AdSense accounts despite obvious, repeated violations of the Terms of Service. Aside from boilerplate emails in response to my DMCA notices, I’ve not heard a peep from the folks in Mountain View. So much for “needing the cooperation of rightsholders.”
Meanwhile, Google continues to profit and funnel money to pirate websites operators around the world. Sorry, but I don’t believe one word of what Ms. Oyama had to say about Google’s efforts to thwart those violating its AdSense Terms of Service. Don’t believe me? Check out this video I made documenting Google’s aversion to enforcing its own AdSense “Terms of Service.” Of course, in addition to highlighting all of Google’s supposed good works in the area of copyright enforcement, Ms. Oyama went on to say:
Last December, we announced that we were building new tools and procedures to enable us to act on reliable DMCA takedown requests within 24 hours. We are happy to report that we have met and exceeded that goal.
Of course, this too rings rather hollow considering my experience last week (described in a recent blog post “The Road to Google DMCA Hell is Paved With Good Intentions”). Is it any wonder I find everything that comes out of Google HQ self-serving, disingenuous rhetoric? Google’s public posturing makes for good political theater and soundbites that resonate with eager acolytes across the web, but sadly, they reflect little in the way of truth. Sorry, but I don’t believe a word they say.
Google Ads grace pirate websites around the world.
Today, while researching one of the many online pirate forums,I decided to do a search for a recently released indie film. I’ve blurred out the title of the film and the forum as I have no wish to disseminate info helpful to pirates. The search returned 319 posts for the film “sharing” hundreds of cyberlocker download links to the film. While this isn’t news, it is important. For the record theft IS NOT free speech. Piracy apologists repeatedly blame the artists for not being innovative enough, blah, blah, blah….. Please, take a look at this and tell me that piracy doesn’t have an impact on legit sales. Please, tell me why it’s OK that the posters on this forum earn money by posting stolen content to cyberlockers while the filmmaker earns nothing? Please explain to me how taking action against this black market business is going to “break the internet?”
Pirate forum search results for new indie film showing more than 300 posts "sharing" download links.
If you’ve read this blog you already know that Google reaps in millions (if not billions) of profit via online piracy. It’s no surprise, therefore that Google is fighting tooth and nail against efforts by Congress to enact a law that would reign in the rampant online black market flourishes thanks piracy (and Google’s ad money).
Since Google under is under scrutiny, company flacks have been giving lip service to the notion of fighting piracy (never mind that no one ever pins them down when it comes to specifics). So I have a very specific suggestion to offer. Everyone knows Google owns Youtube. Many may not know that Youtube has instituted a pretty decent “Content Management System” which allows rights holders to fingerprint their content (audio, video or both) and receive an alert when content matching theirs is uploaded. The rights holder can then determine the fate of their content. They can remove it, block it by territory, track it, or monetize it (sharing proceeds with Google). While the system is imperfect, it’s certainly better than the alternative.
In addition to offering this fairly workable CMS system, I think there’s another way for Youtube/Google to effectively combat piracy on their site.
Pirate thieves are entrepreneurs at heart. Money is what drives them. Since they can’t upload and/or monetize content they own via Youtube they resort to the next, best thing. They use Youtube as an advertising vehicle–a convenient gateway–to connect “customers” to their illegal websites.
Dummy file on Youtube linking to pirate site.
It’s pretty simple. The pirates upload dummy content and title and tag it with terms associated to a specific film. This happens with tons of Hollywood fare but it also happens with indie titles as well.
Here are several examples of “dummy” files for indie films I found on Youtube today. Note in the video window there’s often a screen capture from the film and clear instructions how to find a “free” stream or download. Also if you look at the description, there’s usually a direct link to the pirate website along with a description that provides search terms designed to drive users to the content. (film title and link obscured for obvious reasons). Note that I took this screen cap on the same day (January 15th, that the dummy file was uploaded to Youtube.
Dummy file on Youtube linking to pirate website.
I should note that many of the website that these dummy videos link to are portals that require customers to pay a fee for access. Others allow users to download or stream the film at no cost (the site earns income from ads).
Now I’m sure Youtube/Google cannot totally eliminate this problem but I have to believe they could do something to monitor and remove dummy content that provides a gateway to online pirates. How? Well, I’m not an engineer but I know Google employs some of the best in the world. Why can’t they develop algorithms and content matching technology that ferrets out these dummy files? (This file was upload on 1/14 and by 1/15 had received 41 views).
Dummy file uploaded to Youtube to advertise illegal pirate website.
It’s not rocket science to figure out the tags used by these pirates– “steaming” “download” “online” “free” “full movie.” Why not implement automated search technology that can tag such content. Why not hire staff whose job it is to examine tagged content to determine if it was uploaded with the express purpose of linking to an illegal pirate website? It doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do. Why give pirates yet another “free” way to disseminate their stolen goods? How ‘bout it Google? What do you say?
Sorry, but this is just too much. This morning I logged on to the VIMEO premium account I PAY FOR to check my own video “Follow the Money-Who Profits from Piracy” and get this!
Vimeo puts this pop-up on an account I PAY for!
Sorry, but what gives VIMEO the right to plaster their politics on my paid account? What about my “free speech?” For the record, here’s what you’ll find after you click past their obnoxious pop-up protest advertisement. Go here to watch. I apologize for the popup ad.
If you read the 70 page federal indictment against notorious pirate cyberlocker website Megaupload, you will find this charge on page 10, section 22:
