BitTorrent is No Longer the ‘King’ of Upstream Internet Traffic
In the past two decades, Internet traffic has exploded with more bytes being transferred in each successive year. While this stable trend continues, the types of traffic that pass through the pipes have changed radically. Back in 2004, in the pre-Web 2.0 era, research indicated that BitTorrent was responsible for an impressive 35% of all Internet traffic. At the time, file-sharing via peer-to-peer networks was the main traffic driver...
YouTuber Liable For Bogus DMCA Notice “Awareness Campaign” Targeting Bungie
One of the most frustrating aspects of DMCA notices outside the usual complaints aired by rightsholders, is their ability to trigger policies that assume notices are accurate and in some cases, should be blindly obeyed. Certainly, if the sender of a bogus notice puts in enough effort, the end result can be the removal of whatever material appears in the notice, even when sent to the largest platforms most familiar with fraudulent...
Cox Requests Rehearing of Piracy Case That ‘Threatens to Throw Countless People Offline’
Internet provider Cox Communications has been on the sharp end of several piracy lawsuits in recent years. The biggest hit came four years ago when the Internet provider lost its legal battle against a group of major record labels, including Sony and Universal. A Virginia jury held Cox liable for pirating subscribers because it failed to terminate accounts after repeated accusations, and ordered the company to pay $1 billion in...
Nintendo Hits Circumvention Tool Linkers With DMCA Trafficking Violations
It took less than a week for Nintendo’s lawsuit against the company behind the Yuzu Switch emulator to have the desired effect. After agreeing to hand over $2.4m to Nintendo while complying with the terms of a broad injunction, Tropic Haze LLC evaporated in all but name and its developers drifted away into the night, apologetic and presumably penniless. At least, that’s what the paperwork and subsequent announcement implied, give or...
Oppenheimer Sees New Online Piracy Surge After Oscar Wins
The Oscars is the most prestigious movie awards show of the year, one that’s closely followed by hundreds of millions of movie fans around the world. This year’s awards ceremony was no exception. In the U.S. alone, close to 20 million people tuned in to the ABC show on Sunday evening; a four-year record. In today’s connected world, news spreads quickly across other entertainment channels. As always, most interest goes out to the big...
Pirate IPTV User Fines “Coming Soon” But Are Not “Psychological Terrorism”
The head of Italian telecoms regulator AGCOM has confirmed that long-promised fines targeting end users of illegal streaming services will be arriving “soon.” Massimiliano Capitanio has long insisted that citizens with an illegal streaming habit are legitimate targets for enforcement, but for those still unaware of that message, another reminder was published today. Communications, Regulated “Perhaps it is not yet clear that penalties...
