Well we’re all aware how heinous a crime piracy is and how every year the entertainment industry suffers a loss of millions of dollars due to it. For more than a decade anti-piracy organizations have been targeting pirate websites to curb instances of piracy. One such organization is BREIN (Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland, which roughly translates to association for the Protection of the Rights of the Entertainment Industry of the Netherlands), a Dutch organization which has been an active member of this crusade against piracy.
BREIN, known to be the force behind the discontinuation of websites like ShareConnector, is now not only going behind operators of pirate websites, but the uploaders on these websites as well. On March 14, the organization obtained the requisite permission from the Authority for Personal Data to collect IP addresses of BitTorrent users. The anti-piracy organization was instructed to use appropriate safeguards to ensure proper treatment or handing of such information. According to BREIN, this will be a better more effective way to tackle piracy as they would be able to approach users who are contributing to the illegal activities of pirate websites.
BREIN’s enforcement plan is not limited to any specific type of content, and any one illegally uploading television shows, films, video games, books etc will be at risk. Adding to this the organization states that settlements may vary depending on the nature of the offense and the circumstances. Further, any resistance to such compliance would lead to stringent legal action against the infringer. Also, many infringing parties, concealing themselves behind virtual private networks (VPNs) would also be under BREIN’s radar, as VPNs do not provide infallible protection.
However, to proceed with the data collection of these users and to establish any connection with these pirates BREIN would have to approach the ISPs. But this would not be possible without a court order, demanded by many ISPs, as the whole operation would involve disclosing of sensitive information amongst other things.
Well we have to wait and see how successful BREIN would be in this arduous endeavor.
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