Philippine Record Labels Get Government To Play Whac-A-Mole With Kickass Torrents
from the no-prizes dept
Around and around we go, when the futility will stop, nobody knows. I'm referring, of course, to a large swath of government and industry groups around the world that apparently just love to play whac-a-mole with torrent sites, which don't host infringing files. If you're not familiar with the carnival game of the same name, it goes something like this. A mole pops out of a hole and you bludgeon that little bastard with a man-hammer. Then another one pops up from another hole. After bashing that one, another one pops out elsewhere. This goes on for exactly as much time as it takes the person playing to decide it would be much more productive to consume thirty corn dogs and puke all over themselves.
The face that launched a thousand mallets
Image source: CC BY 2.0
The latest challenger in this stupid, stupid game? The Philippines. At the request of the Filipino record industry, with some help from their US counterparts, the government seized infamous torrent tracker site Kickass Torrents. The government notes that they're only following the lead of the United Kingdom, who similarly censored KAT back in February. So, once again, we have private industry managing to get government to act as their knee-cap hit squad. Rather, that would be a decent description if the mole wasn't able to simply pop back up out of another hole, which it did.
Local record labels and the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry said that the torrent site was doing “irreparable damages” to the music industry and following a formal complaint the authorities resorted to seize of the main domain name. The torrent site hasn’t given up and is operating as usual under a new domain name.In other words, this was a pointless exercise in parlor game futility. Instead of finding new ways to compete, the recording industry would rather whack away at those pesky moles. My advice? Well, I suggest, as always, corn dogs.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: copyright, philippines, torrents, whac-a-mole
Companies: kickass torrents
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Mmm... Corndogs...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mmm... Corndogs...
I wonder what the politicians today in the philippines thinking? once you put something on the net, it's spread faster than a virus outbreak....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Block averted
Pointless action
Money wasted
Nice business model these people have
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
- Use next in line domain name.
Damn pirates keep getting smarter by the minute.
They learned all the dirty tricks.
How to use LLCs as proxies for business, how to use proxies around the world, how to use fiscal paradises.
The Kickasstorrents guys are even using artwork the reminds Hollywood, those guys are really, really teasing the industry.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
Anyhoo, you run with a silly metaphor so as to drop all hint that pirates stealing content could be bad in at least two ways: further dulls the minds of the thieves with empty entertainment, and prevents those who made it from getting due reward.
Just because you're thieves who CAN steal someone else's property doesn't mean that you should (even if you think they still have it, whole). Stealing is corrosive to your soul. You flaunt it, though it's nothing to be proud of in nature -- let alone scale. You're PETTY SNEAK THIEVES.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
I resent your implication that the copyright infringers who upload such great art to deviantArt have to surrender their rights in the name of "protecting fruits of labour". Do you not know the definition of doublethink?
Forget copyright, push forward with assurance contracts, and stop being such a Luddite.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
Oh forgot what store you people set by appearances: bet you're disturbed by the mounds of copyright infringing activity now visible thanks to the internet but I kind of like them. After all, torrents and indexing sites etc show the power and ingenuity of regular people just trying to get things to work, simply and easily.
Just because a thief, thinks he can prevent anyone else from doing anything they want with their own property doesn't mean that you should.
Stealing away rights of people to do what they like with things they have bought, even if that is to share it with others who would never otherwise have heard of it, aren't sure they want to spend money on it without trying it out, or actually can't afford to spend money on it - just because you can and because of purely "imaginary" losses that are supposed to (but don't) occur, doesn't mean you should.
Trying to control other people is corrosive to society and individual liberties. The **AA's flaunt it, though it's definitely nothing to be proud of, whether in nature or when it gets to the scale of corrupting governments and international trade agreements. There is nothing petty about the thievery going on by the legacy incumbents here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
You know, sadly, there was originally another Sam 'n Max reference in the article, with "puke" being "yuke", but it was edited out by someone who never played the game :(
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
They do enjoy lying on un-scientific questionnaires tho.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
What's your excuse? You're so confused by scientific facts such as timezones that the request for a citation has broken your feeble mind? You're so inept at defending arguments that you have to fight imaginary personality defects in people when they dare to ask trolls to defend their lies with evidence?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
You apparently have never had to shoot a horse that stepped in a hole left behind by one of your harmless moles.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
So it is a safe assumption from the quantity of lies that you tell, that you have no soul left.
I guess when you lie as much as you do, eventually, you are going to start to believe in your lies.
The rest of us on the other hand, can still see your lies for what they are.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
Have you ever seen a mole or a rat care about copyright?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wrong animal. Pirates are RATS eating the seed corn.
Meow.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What's the legal theory behind this stuff?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: What's the legal theory behind this stuff?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
employment
mpaa: we are slowly stopping the pirates but it is taking time,
studios: but we are losing sales and hundreds of trillions of dollars a day...
mpaa: , we are slowly wining...
studios, we are bankrupt...
mpaa give us some more time,lol
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Perjury charges?
“irreparable damages” must be very loosely defined?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Dumb meme is dumb.
All law enforcement is whac a mole. Duh.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Heroin dealing? Whack-a-mole.
Speeding? Whack-a-mole.
Tax evasion? Whack-a-mole.
Murder? Whack-a-mole.
Pickpocketing? Whack-a-mole.
Child molestation? Whack-a-mole.
But you're right, this crime is different. It's special, because it allows all of you cheap, freeloading, shitbags to get something for nothing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: anon coward
Second, the Whack-a-mole references the stupid attempt to censor them via a single dns action.
It's interesting that you seem to equate all those actual crimes with a site that commits no crime at all.
Obvious shill is obvious.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: anon coward
You're about as sharp as bowling ball, aren't you?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: anon coward
Yes, the author brought up Whack-a-mole and used the term correctly and in-context. You however, did not. Even after I pointed this out to you, you STILL do not seem to understand the context involved.
Maybe you should go back to Sparkle Lanes and see if its your turn to roll your rock down the lane. I am not sure you are ready for another reading comprehension lesson.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: anon coward
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: anon coward
Sure pal whatever you say.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mikey "the Milkman" Masnick.
He has to block the IPs of people who challenge him. He's so scared of me that he doesn't know what to do.
I'm not going anywhere, Mikey.
Blocking me makes it worse.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Since his posts are basically spam, in the future, just click the report button and scroll down - do not comment or rant. This is the last time I will post any response to this persons deranged, self-indulgent Spam!
Pass the message.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
That is why he makes up his own facts to suit his agenda
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Note: The industry will force another bill through if you hit too many, saying that it's necessary to stop pirates altogether, but if you don't hit enough, they'll complain that you're not doing enough to stop piracy and push the same one through.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
(Now's the part where I wait for him to come back with some vein-popping, insulting bout of verbal diarrhea...)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
And yet EVERY dissenting opinion on techdirt IS STILL VIEWABLE.
If you want to complain about censorship complain to the people on your own side that do it
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Select:
a) Filthy pirates
b) Hard-working RIAA/MPAA/Congress
c) Rogue states
d) Pirates stole our BRAAAAAIIIIINSSSSS!!1!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Good move
Don't think of it as a whacked mole, think of it as another country off the list of places for the pirates to hide out, even virtually. The list keeps getting shorter, those moles are not reproducing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Good move
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Good move
http://kickass.to/
Meow.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Good move
If only you people would support actions that were actually effective instead of these idiotic games that only make you look stupid, and do nothing to address your problems...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The internet obviously need a Snowden-like whistleblower from within the music industry, perhaps that will get things back to normal...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In whack a mole games the moles don't progressively get harder to whack and the people in the arcade don't start rooting for the moles and sneering at you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
My country is run by celebrities, go figure.
After the Clinton-Lewinsky thing, impeachment became our national hobby. Yes, our politicos impeach everybody for anything....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ok, now imagine this variant:
There's a mole somewhere. Every few seconds he writes his name in a piece of paper and throws it out of a hole. You bludgeon that paper with the hammer. Then the mole writes his name in another piece of paper. Eventually, your arm falls off, while the mole lives happily eating nachos and watching mole porn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hoist the Colors
Pirate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
proxys
www.dimz.co.uk/proxy
for a few of your sites
[ link to this | view in chronology ]