This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Important context missing from the headline and opening paragraph: they're going after BitTorrent users.
The opening makes it sound like they're threatening their own paying customers (or maybe people that just visit the site) with exposure unless they pay "hush money".
I'm sorry, it's okay because they use BitTorrent? wtf? As I recall, the company argue in court that a mere IP address is enough to proceed with a lawsuit. They already try to ruin lives, this is more of the same.
The defendant can't afford for them to go to court, additionally, it goes to discovery and names are revealed. Paying is cheaper and safer.
This is not a lawsuit, its extortion, but if it went to court, it definitely would be defeated by anti-SLAPP laws.
So the litigant is filling lawsuits against IP addresses or did they ask the ISP for the customers info? Not trying to take the side of "Big Porn" but I have a hard time defending something that's clearly against the law. By all means steal porn but get a VPN or something.
They have done both in the past. Source is Lawful Masses with Leonard French
They can fail to legally compel an ISP for customer info (or the individual paying for the service) because an IP address doesn't specifically link to one person. At best it links to a router, in a house with a single occupant who pays the ISP. That still doesn't guarantee the owner is the one who used the network at the time (could share internet with visiting guests, neighbors or be a victim of hacking). Often there are multiple people in the house, or it's an apartment, or it's freaking public access. An IP recorded from a file sharing protocol infers diddly squat but judges are not known for being adapt at computer literacy, an IP is sometimes enough for it to proceed.
It's insane this type of extortion strategy is still legally and financially viable.
If I had a choice between giving them $5 000 or my Russian little person fart porn fetish coming out then everyone’s going to know my little fetish.
Then everyone will recommend you Brazilian little person fart porn fetish.
I find the Brazilian flavour to be a little frivolous for my tastes while the Russian variety is colder and more utilitarian.
It just really does it for me, you know?
Fair point.
Cool niche, user name checks out
Prenda Law anyone? Cautionary tale. You can look it up.
It’s mentioned in the article
It treats this Court not as a citadel of justice, but as an ATM
Risky use of that abbreviation in the context of this article...
…downloading its movies via BitTorrent, an online service on which unauthorized content can be accessed by almost anyone with a computer and internet connection.
Ah yes, BitTorrent.com, where all of the illegal material on the web is! 🙄
