On filtering

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:04 pm

First of all, we do filtering on links that's been identified for various reasons. It maybe virus infected files in torrents, it maybe copyright owners requesting takedown of links to their material. For copyright takedowns, we've long had a copyright policy and procedure for it. This is not censorship on content, this is filtering for identified abuse. Although DMCA has often been used as a way to censor, that's a problem with the DMCA and the "request and takedown" regime itself, and the way some websites blindly accept takedown requests.

While I claim to be no saint, we do random sampling on requested links and verify against the identity of the owner requesting their takedown. We have on occasions rejected requests due to situations like music companies requesting takedown of torrents that looks like porn. That also goes into problems of how do you know whether torrents are what they claim to be by their filenames, but that's another issue.

On the recent news of our partnership with FileRights.com, some clarification on a lot of misinformed reporting and comments. We haven't started using their database yet, the system is still being developed. The idea is to take some pain away from the current "email takedown request, verify links, respond" process to "establish identity as copyright holder or its agent once, use API's to automate the requests, and we random sample the legitimacy of the requests". Nothing more or less is done to our copyright policy for filtering based on identified, unauthorized links to copyrighted works. It's not DRM and it's not censorship. It's to automate the process so it's easier for content owners (request once instead of 100 different BitTorrent trackers and sites), and easier for us (verify and process once for multiple sites, and no need for legalese in emails).

If you don't like it, take it up with your congressmen about the DMCA if you are in the US. Or, seed torrents of stuff that you produced, and no problems for any of us. Wink

Bram Cohen did say something about BitTorrent not designed for piracy, and I think he's right.

UPDATE: To all the sensationalist news reporting, trolls and Brokep at TPB, some more flamatory material for you.