do ppl actaully get jailed for using bt?

[cheeseman557]

i have heard stories of paying fines or going to jail for using bt. is this true?

[osm0sis]

depends on what you're using bittorrent for. using bittorrent alone isn't legal grounds for anything. if you're downloading illegal material and get caught doing so then yes, it is possible that legal action might be taken against you. that's why we have ipfilters so that bittorrent/other clients don't send data to so-called "planted" peers in swarms from agencies/associations (FBI/RIAA/MPAA) that monitor who sends data to them so they can prosecute. it's not as big of a deal as it sounds. odds are if they do have data from you they won't care because you're just one in 1,000,000,000. usually they want the original uploaders/seeders. if you are worried, however, i recommend picking up the ipfilter.dat from http://www.openmedia.info/. it can be used with uTorrent to filter out those bad peers.

[splintax]

Further to what osmosis said, it depends on what you're downloading and where you live. In most countries you won't get in trouble for downloading legal stuff (eg. Linux ISOs, CC-licensed media, etc). But in a lot you can get in trouble for downloading copyrighted material, which is probably the main use of BT (unfortunately, the actions of the media and some dumb people get other people to think it's the ONLY use).

Basically, BitTorrent is just a protocol, it can get you in trouble like any other activity on a computer. If you set up a website allowing people to download copyrighted material without permission over HTTP, it's effectively no different to if you were distributing stuff via BT. There is nothing inherently illegal or wrong about BT.

[00]

A guy in Hong Kong actually got sentenced to jail but is currently on bail. See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittorrent#Copyright_enforcement

http://legalref.judiciary.gov.hk/lrs/common/search/search_result.jsp?isadvsearch=1&txtselectopt=2&txtSearch=&txtselectopt1=1&txtSearch1=&txtselectopt2=3&txtSearch2=chan+nai+ming&txtselectopt3=4&txtSearch3=&stem=1&vm=Go%21&selDatabase=JU

[aguiar]

bye bye

[Ultima]

Off topic. Please don't hijack a thread. And if you need help with opening the file, you can ask at wherever you grabbed the torrent from...

[aguiar]

WOW...u can b very rude.Sorry if i have disturbed your HINESS...

[SolidasRock]

i recommend picking up the ipfilter.dat from http://www.openmedia.info/. it can be used with uTorrent to filter out those bad peers.

It sounds interesting, i am not be able to see openmedia.info (its down?) to download an ipfilter.dat.

Is it difficult to install it or to use it with Utorrent?

[Ultima]

@aguiar: I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but barging into another person's thread and going off topic can be just as (if not more) rude. I'm only trying to set you on the right track. Now, I'm sorry if you can't understand that. And I'd rather not be called "highness" (whether sarcastic or not), thank you =]

Edit: I reread my post and realized that I screwed up what I was trying to say... Which came off very rude. What I had meant to say was that you downloaded shouldn't be of any concern in the forums... Sorry about that (I feel like I scared a newbie off and made the community look like crap/mean/whatever -.-)

[00]

i am not be able to see openmedia.info (its down?) to download an ipfilter.dat.

Is it difficult to install it or to use it with Utorrent?

openmedia.info is down here too.

How to use ipfilter.dat:

http://utorrent.com/faq.php#What_is_ipfilter.dat.3F

[SolidasRock]

00, thanks for your answer.

greets solid

[BloodStaindHurricane]

Interesting read:

http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1054

[osm0sis]

yeah, it seems to have had some downtime, is back now though. also, sorry for the late response.

if it still isn't working, try this:

http://www2.openmedia.info:8080/

[splintax]

BSH: Good article. I've read it before; the only problem is that it isn't quite clear about where that stuff applies. Quite a lot of it is US-centric without saying so.

[osm0sis]

so basically you won't get in trouble unless you're a single mom, a poor college student, or a grandfather with custody of a young child. unfortunately a lot of filesharers fit into the second category, but yea, rare, like the article said. the ipfilter and everything is just added precaution for those who like to be on the safe side (ie. paranoid.)