Sweden: Anti-Piracy group using blackmail while police looks the other way

This article answers the question of how the anti-piracy organizations gets access to private trackers and FTP sites.

One word: blackmail.

Citing a situation which happened a few years ago, the source explains how APB received a tip that people were sharing files via a research institute FTP server. APB allegedly contacted a known file-sharing employee at the location and threatened the individual with reprisals unless they handed over information and helped with their investigation. APB subsequently used the employee’s login to access the server.

This behavior is illegal in Sweden. But what do the police do?

Swedish prosecutor Björn Ericson announced that there would be no investigation into the activities of APB despite allegations that they had gained unauthorized access to another FTP server, this time in the ongoing ePhone case.

Source: TorrentFreak

My personal point of view is that the model of forcing people to pay for music and movies in a digital world is ultimately doomed to failure. The systems is set up so the artists hardly get to see a dime, while the record companies are getting richer. There is no way Im going to support such a morally bankrupt system.

These are my reasons for supporting piracy. I want the old system to die. I want a new system where everybody who has talent gets attention (much like youtube) and earns most of the money from his/her talent.

What are your views on this subject? Is it right to break the law to catch people who download movies and music? Do you believe this is causing others to stop downloading? What do you see as the end result of this battle between downloaders and the music/movie industry?


[edit on 26-7-2010 by Copernicus]

These kind of rulings are quite annoying, as they essentially overrule any supposed laws of privacy.

In the USA, I believe that when the 4th amendment is broken, and a search/access like this is unreasonable, the evidence is suppressed in most cases. However, in the UK, and I guess also in Sweden, they can break the analog of those laws with impunity, making those laws a mockery.

I think they should go after these copyright infringers, but if they can't do it within the law, then tough luck, no case for them.