Excite@Home has closed down several news groups that were sharing copyright protected materials. This is probably going to be a trend, as ISP's are held liable for the stuff people put on the internet, as soon as it gets reported to them.
As you probably have noticed, the freedom on the internet is going down. Less if for free, and what's for free has mostly strict rules. For those who have been on the internet for a long time, we have had a nice time, but the end is nearby. Of course not the end of the internet, but the free stuff seems to be gone more and more. Or did you find some good stuff ?
"When ISPs get a notice that the statute requires that someone is violating copyright, then they have a choice: They go on, or they can take the material down," said Peter Paszi, a professor at American University Law School. "If they go ahead, then they expose themselves to possible liability as the knowing host of an infringing activity." |
Excite@Home said that removing the groups was a "pre-emptive" move because the company had been asked to pull similar material in the past. In the last year, the company eradicated several newsgroups, many related to adult material, for copyright violations.
One newsgroup removed this week was "alt.binaries.penthouse," which largely dealt with sharing photos from adult magazine Penthouse. Many of the others were related to sharing movie files or adult entertainment.
Other ISPs avoid hosting newsgroups or don't carry "alt.binary" groups because of potential copyright issues.
Source: ZDnet.com
