Microsoft, Eolas Settle: It's Still Cheaper To Pay Up Than Fight Bogus Patents

Turns Out The MPAA Did Get Access To TorrentSpy Execs' Email

from the ethically-challenged dept

Thu, Aug 30th 2007 8:27pm — Mike Masnick

The MPAA has been pushing the courts to force TorrentSpy to spy on its users -- something TorrentSpy refuses to do, noting that it would break their own privacy policy and is simply ethically questionable. It should come as no surprise, of course, that the MPAA has no such qualms. In fact, it came out today that the MPAA had, in fact, been snooping through TorrentSpy's executives' emails. So, which organization looks more ethically challenged? This stems from a case TorrentSpy filed last year, after finding out that a former co-worker gave the MPAA access to TorrentSpy emails. While a court has found that the MPAA's actions did not violate wiretap laws, it's still pretty questionable. What appears to have happened, is that a former TorrentSpy employee who had access to the company's email system set it up so all executives' emails also forwarded to a gmail account he owned. He then sold access to that gmail account to people at the MPAA. Clearly, the MPAA knew that the TorrentSpy execs thought these emails were private, and yet they still eagerly paid up for access to them, which is really sleazy. TorrentSpy is appealing the case, but they'd probably have a much stronger case against the former employee who set up the email forwarding system in the first place.

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Filed Under: email snooping, wiretap
Companies: bittorrent, mpaa

25 Comments

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Brandon, 30 Aug 2007 @ 9:55pm

that ridiculous good thing i have had an anti MPAA bumper sticker since high school. this doesn't surprise me what lengths these people will go to and what ethics they will throw out the window to get what they want.
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- Re-Born, 31 Aug 2007 @ 4:07am
  
  Re: It IS a good thing you have the bumper sticker
  You totally saved my life man, I just want you to know that. I was so depressed about the MPAA's unethical pratices, there touting the laws and my constitutional rights to privacy, and getting away with it I was pretty sure it was the downfall of this country.
  
  I was so depressed I had decided to kill myself. Life just didnt seem worth living anymore.
  
  THEN I read how you have had an anti-MPAA BUMPERSTICKER since high school, and I thought..."WOW!!!!! Someone else out there gets it, and they are fighting the good fight!!!"
  
  I decided that if you could fight the man, so could I. Decided that life might actually be worth living after all. I mean, i someone is willing to go so far as buying a BUMPERSTICKER and driving around with it since HIGH SCHOOL, like Whoa man. Thats heavy, ya know?
  
  So I put away the 6 bottles of pills I was going to take, ran out and bought an anti-MPAA bumpersticker of my own, and have just been driving around with it and havent looked back since!!!
  
  I know that ever single other person on earth would look at your anti-MPAA BUMPERSTICKER and go "what a tool. What a complete and total fucking loser. A BUMPERSTICKER? Really? Way to stick it to the man, oh my god what a worthless ass-hat this loser is."
  
  But you just ignore them. Next time you go out to your car and look at that pathetic and sad useless and futile gesture called a BUMPERSTICKER you put on your car you just say to yourself "Hey. My anti-MPAA BUMPERSTICKER that Ive been driving around with since high school saved somebodies life".
  
  Thank you man, thank you.
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  - Cixelsid, 31 Aug 2007 @ 4:35am
    
    Re: Re: It IS a good thing you have the bumper sti
    Umm. Go back to jerking it at comedy school moron. You still have lots to learn.
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  - nunya_bidness, 31 Aug 2007 @ 6:40am
    
    Re: Re: It IS a good thing you have the bumper sti
    I just put a pro MPAA sticker on my car so you can go kill yourself. I hope you kept the pills.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 9:32am
      
      Re: Re: Re: It IS a good thing you have the bumper
      Tell me where I can get one so he will kill himself that much quicker and save us all from his very shit humour.
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  - GoblinJuice, 31 Aug 2007 @ 11:52pm
    
    Re: Re: It IS a good thing you have the bumper sti
    Don't forget to get the shirt! Starting at $14.95 (but, yeah, $16.95 for the lardasses)!
    
    FIGHT THE POWA! REBEL AGAINST THE SYSTEM!
    
    Prove how much of a rebel you are by buying crap! YEAH!!! w00t!
    
    *blinks slowly* Sarcasm. My God, it's a beautiful thing.
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Mike, 31 Aug 2007 @ 1:05am

yeah good thing you've got that sticker. having that sticker changes the world man, you're pretty anti establishment, right on.
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drewmerc, 31 Aug 2007 @ 2:17am

if one person reads that sticker then it's done its job...subliminal advertising it is not
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网站建设, 31 Aug 2007 @ 4:00am

网站建设
if one person reads that sticker then it's done its job...subliminal advertising it is not
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 4:33am

Re-born, all that effort really paid off. You showed him, although I find myself wishing that you had taken the pills.
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Ricky, 31 Aug 2007 @ 5:01am

LOL
best comments ever.
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GS, 31 Aug 2007 @ 5:06am

So is this bumper sticker idea not going to take off then?

Sh*t I banked on that - I just bought 4,000 cases of them from some dude who used to work at TorrentSpy.
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Overcast, 31 Aug 2007 @ 5:56am

It's ok for the MPAA to break laws, afterall they are big corporate America.

But no one else can. Well except politicians, and the RIAA, of course.
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Dave's Football Blog, 31 Aug 2007 @ 7:12am

TorrentSpy co-worker moves on
I've heard that the TorrentSpy employee who sold those emails to the MPAA just got himself a job at Seven Network in Australia.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 7:14am

"It's ok for the MPAA to break laws, afterall they are big corporate America.

But no one else can. Well except politicians, and the RIAA, of course."

well you should add celebs to that list, and might as well just add rich people in general, poor people too i guess when you think about it.....yep just another case that the middle class gets fucked over
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Matthew, 31 Aug 2007 @ 7:47am

What about the .sig?
Did they have a sig file disclaimer that states all the info in those emails is private? It probably doesn't stand up legally, but it might have given the Judge pause or reason to flame the *AA.
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John B, 31 Aug 2007 @ 7:51am

MPAA is disgusting
I'm not surprised the MPAA did this. I am surpised they admitted to it. Pretty pathetic, desperate and sleazy.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 8:06am

Companies are to blame
I love how it is the MPAA that did something wrong and not the employee. Classic.
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Stephen, 31 Aug 2007 @ 8:06am

Huh
I curious how this does not violate wiretapping laws or perhaps some other law.
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deadzone, 31 Aug 2007 @ 8:16am

Heh. :)
Do as I say not as I do huh MPAA? I'm getting older, I need as much Iron as I can get I suppose.
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BiggusDickus, 31 Aug 2007 @ 8:32am

Where can I get -
- an MPAA Bumper sticker. I too want to really stick it to the man !
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 9:53am

Should be illegal
Clearly, the MPAA knew that the TorrentSpy execs thought these emails were private, and yet they still eagerly paid up for access to them, which is really sleazy.
If intercepting these e-mails was illegal then paying for them should also be illegal. Kind of like if killing someone is illegal then paying someone for it should also be illegal.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2007 @ 10:11am

It should be illegal, you mean like voilating copyright laws? Like illegal filesharing? I didn't know the people here were so concerned with the law.

Maybe the MPAA is just taking its cue from the general public. Why should they follow the law, seems most others don't.
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- D, 31 Aug 2007 @ 11:03am
  
  Re:
  I've downloaded movies that I've later bought. Watching a movie on your computer is not the same as watching it with someone else in your TV room.
  
  I watched Transformers in the theater, then downloaded (average quality version) to watch again two weeks later. I'll buy it when it comes out. Is it worth the MPAAs time to come after me?
  
  Wiretapping and fraud are a bit different than copyright infringement. Copyright infringement (for music/movies) is a POTENTIAL LOSS. Besides, movies like iRobot, had so many ads in them I feel I should have been paid to watch it.
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Raptor85, 31 Aug 2007 @ 2:40pm

hmmm
I wonder... Could this be considered copyright infringement since the private, internal emails are being duplicated without the owner's consent and sold to the MPAA. It's somewhat like the MPAA is buying bootleg emails.

Not that i know if that would hold up or not, it would just be sweet, sweet justice for someone to sue the MPAA for copyright infringement and win.
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