This domain name has been seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (photo)

Here is the picture I saw when going to a website (I will not add the link since it is now illegal to go to not to mention it's been seized and is no longer available, some of you may know what website I am talking about):

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a5c9bc8c2206.jpg[/atsimg]

If for some reason the full picture does not show (sorry still do not know how to make it scroll) here is the link to the picture U.S. Govt. Seized Website Domain

EDIT: I do have a link I can add. Here is a link to the government website that is seizing these domains (it literally just popped up so I guess they want me to share ha): U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

I know all threads are supposed to have a source but obviously this is a special case.

If for some reason the mods feel this should be deleted, go ahead and do so, but I think this is something that should be shared since we've been waiting for this and now I have a picture to show everyone the beginning...

I haven't tried many other websites yet that I visit, but I am going to start keeping count... if anyone else has seen this picture or one like it, please share, I'm wondering if they have different pictures and such for different situations or if this is their official picture they will be using.

[edit on 19/7/2010 by highlyoriginal]

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Can you at least say what the website was? You do not have to post a link to do that.

Obviously it was a site that was allowing movies and games to be uploaded. I do not blame them for shutting it down, and the industries of entertainment are demanding the government get involved, they want something done about getting ripped off. Movies get put on the internet before they are even released because of this.

I do not see any conspiracy here.

Originally posted by ExPostFacto
reply to post by highlyoriginal

 

Can you at least say what the website was? You do not have to post a link to do that.

The website did not host anything illegal, it had links to other websites which I guess the U.S. government found to be hosting illegal copies of movies and such. I really don't want to go into this further without a mod's permission on how far I can go on explaining this.

It is not illegal to go to a torrent site though dling may be another matter.

Originally posted by space cadet
I do not see any conspiracy here.

The reason I posted it was because the website did not host anything whatsoever. You can post all the links you wish, I do not know of a law that says you can't post a link unless it contains something containing an illegal act - if it's something like that it will get shut down before you even probably get a chance to look at it.

Was it like a conspiracy website and you think they had an info leak and shut down the website er something?...

You can't start to say something and not finish it..
especially when speaking to a girl LOLl.. and there ARE girl members here. [very intelligent ones too]

reply to post by CanadianDream420


No it was not a conspiracy website. It hosted links to certain downloads, and as another member guessed some were torrents.

We've seen torrent sites get shut down, but I've never come across this image before. Anyway, I just wanted to share it, feel free to disregard this thread if you think it's not a big deal that the government is seizing domain names because they are hosting links.

Hosting a link A LINK to some other place, is not illegal. The website which contains some illegal upload (for example we see it happen all the time with megavideo etc...) is the one that gets shut down.

I understand you reasoning for not telling us the website.

But, was it music, movies, or games, or just all in general?

also, .com .org, .net, or what?

And last but not least,

was it a united states website? (produced in)

Originally posted by gandhi
I understand you reasoning for not telling us the website.

But, was it music, movies, or games, or just all in general?

also, .com .org, .net, or what?

And last but not least,

was it a united states website? (produced in)

-Movies mostly
-.tv
-I do know it wasn't hosted in the U.S. and yet they still seized it somehow (must have either been a government working with the U.S. or the U.S. just doing what they want... I think it was the latter)

[edit on 19/7/2010 by highlyoriginal]

I don't have any problem with the government cracking down on infringement of intellectual property or copyrights. It takes time and effort to create a song, a book, or a movie. To steal it is to steal the creative effort of all those who worked on it. Free content (like what we are writing on ATS) has its place, but I for one would like to live in a world where it is possible for people to be professional artists, writers, and musicians, and to be compensated for their efforts.

At the same time, I think U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has some much more important jobs to take care of at the moment -- such as staunching the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. Why are they spending their time and energy seizing websites when the southern border is leaking like sieve? Isn't there another agency within the bloated, debt-riddled federal government that could earn its keep by protecting intellectual property?




[edit on 7/19/10 by silent thunder]

Originally posted by highlyoriginal
reply to post by CanadianDream420

 

Hosting a link A LINK to some other place, is not illegal. The website which contains some illegal upload (for example we see it happen all the time with megavideo etc...) is the one that gets shut down.

You might not think it's illegal, but it seems some people have been prosecuted for it.

Summary: There have been 3 court cases in the US where sites were forced to take down links leading to infringing material on external sites. The sites were found guilty of ‘contributory infringement’ for simply linking.

www.webtvwire.com...


[edit on 19/7/2010 by harpsounds]

reply to post by harpsounds


Thanks for sharing that, I didn't know that.

However, 3 court cases seems like they were making an example, and truly it should not be illegal to post a link - period.

I never said I agree with pirating software/music/whatever nor will I ever post such a thing. However I do believe people should be able to post links and not all the links on this specific website were illegal. But I see your point, and your point is taken.

I know what site your talking about. No biggie! They were already doing illegal actives that they knew they would be caught or shut down.

Several of these sites have been shut down, but a ton more have come up to replace them. I for one fully support these site, though many may not agree, but I am also the type of person who will go with out before supporting the industry. I will however support mom and pop labels, individual artists by buying direct with out the middle mans middle man and independent films.

Many of these sites are now operating under a different domain or are planning doing so soon.

I'm not understanding why you think you can't tell us what website. Do you think they will shut you down too (hardley)? That is almost as bad as those people who say, "I have super-secret information, but I can't tell anyone".

--airspoon



[edit on 19-7-2010 by airspoon]

reply to post by highlyoriginal


You are NOT allowed to watch anything without the prerequisite advertisements!

I do not mind watching TV, as long as I do not have to watch the crap that comes with it and I am allowed to watch it when I want.

Sorry, MANY different shows and news allow you to download after the original has been played, those that do not, to hell with them.

What do I care about the diaper, the drug, the worthless crap they advertise, I DO NOT watch the shows for the ads. If they have a problem with that, maybe they should understand the NATURE of the human condition. If not, maybe the propagandists should find a new medium to foment their wares.

Originally posted by airspoon
I'm not understanding why you think you can't tell us what website. Do you think they will shut you down too (hardley)? That is almost as bad as those people who say, "I have super-secret information, but I can't tell anyone".

--airspoon



[edit on 19-7-2010 by airspoon]

I never said I had "super secret information" - I simply shared something I found.

If you get a mod to say it's OK for me to post the website, then I will do so. But due to the T&C I am not allowed to post a website (whether or not it's still there or not) that had to do with torrents.

Also, I just found out this website is already back up under basically the same name with another .com/.tv/.whatever so if I post it I will be violating the T&C so do not give me crap for not posting the link.

As I said I don't believe in stealing anything, music, software, movies etc, but this was not the deal with this website - they did not host. Not to mention some of the stuff they had they had specific permission to promote/post/link-up.

Anyway, I'm done trying to explain myself, I just thought I'd share this image with you all that's it.

This was in the news last month

www.msnbc.msn.com...