MPAA Issues Overly Broad Takedown Of Little Used Reddit Film Community; Creates Much Bigger Reddit Film Community

from the do-they-have-any-streisand-movies-available? dept

Oh that wacky MPAA. Earlier this week, TorrentFreak noted that the MPAA issued a massively overbroad DMCA takedown to Google, asking it to remove an entire subreddit from its search results. The subreddit in question was r/FullLengthFilms, which really wasn't that popular.
It's not difficult to guess why the MPAA wanted this community gone, though it is a bit odd that the MPAA thinks that just because it finds one link to a potentially infringing movie that it thinks an entire subreddit should disappear down the search engine memory hole. If that's the criteria, a lot of the internet would go missing. Google didn't take it out of its search results, but the resulting publicity from the bogus takedown attempt... suddenly made r/FullLengthFilms a hell of a lot more popular.
One of the mods for the subreddit points out that he'd long considered it to be a dead subreddit, but now it was suddenly booming again. There are a bunch of new subscribers, plenty of new mods and a bunch of new films -- and, yes, many of them are perfectly legal and authorized. I wonder if there are any movies that star Barbra Streisand linked from the subreddit...
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Filed Under: dmca takedown, full length films, streisand effect, subreddit
Companies: google, mpaa, reddit


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2014 @ 1:32pm

    I had read this a couple of days ago. I've been chuckling ever since as you could pretty well write the script on the play out of what was going to happen.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2014 @ 1:37pm

    i propose a name change

    Major Dumbass Association of America

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2014 @ 1:46pm

      Re: i propose a name change

      MPAA= Major PoopieHeads Association of America

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Techanon, 27 Jun 2014 @ 8:02pm

        Re: Re: i propose a name change

        I prefer: 'Most Pathetic Association of America'.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Roger Strong (profile), 27 Jun 2014 @ 2:31pm

    It's been said that Fred Phelps Sr. and his Westboro Baptist congregation ultimately helped the gay rights movement, giving the movement allies who are horrified by the his hate and tactics. Along the way he forced federal government and more than 40 states to pass laws to limit his protests.

    The MPAA's protests seem less reasonable over time, while the average person is becoming more educated in what's reasonable and what isn't.

    Perhaps we should print some signs for them, "GOD HATES PUBLIC DOMAIN" and whatnot.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    observer, 27 Jun 2014 @ 3:31pm

    Honestly, what did they even expect? What they've done is the equivalent of pulling a lever marked "horse manure dispenser" and being surprised when horse manure is in fact dispensed.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    G Thompson (profile), 28 Jun 2014 @ 1:38am

    and it seems a Reddit Admin caved into pressure and has now removed the subreddit in question

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Jun 2014 @ 11:13am

    Why only focus on perceived abuses from rightholders? You do realize that infringers are abusing the law as well, don't you?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 29 Jun 2014 @ 6:39pm

      Re:

      And if the MPAA was going after just those people, you might have a point, but they tried to get the entire thing de-listed, infringing and non-infringing alike.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 29 Jun 2014 @ 6:42pm

      Re:

      Also, can't help but notice the wording there, 'perceived abuses from rightsholders' vs 'infringers are abusing the law', nice little bit of spin there.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 29 Jun 2014 @ 8:12pm

      Re:

      Your question is stupid.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 29 Jun 2014 @ 10:46pm

      Re:

      average_joe just hates it when due process is enforced.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 30 Jun 2014 @ 12:29am

      Re:

      "Why only focus on perceived abuses from rightholders? "

      Yes, why focus on abuses and illegal activity from those who are claiming to uphold the law? Why focus on the stripping of rights and attacks on innocent people to save a broken business model? Someone else is bad so let's ignore them!

      I bet you're really this stupid, aren't you? Yes, infringers are breaking the law. But those who claim to uphold it are far worse.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Barbara Wagnet, 29 Jun 2014 @ 11:49am

    Barbara

    There's a vampire in the village that's controlling the ghouls.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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