1000°

14 Illegal Things You're Doing on the Internet

Mashable: "We've all done it. One day it's pirating an album, the next day it's streaming movies from a sketchy site. Of course, we know all these things are illegal. But what about the other illicit activity you're engaging in online? Some may not be as obvious as you'd think."

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mashable.com
SilentNegotiator4100d ago (Edited 4100d ago )

"We've all done it. One day it's pirating an album, the next day it's streaming movies from a sketchy site"

I hate that attitude. Just because you and a couple friends do it, doesn't mean "we all do it". We aren't all pirates.

Half of the stuff on that list is "copyright for copyright's sake" infractions that not even the owners care about. Big deal. Do you think FOX gives a flying sh** that I use this Red avatar?

dilawer4100d ago

So, I take that you haven't done any of these.

SilentNegotiator4100d ago

I don't regard using "meme pics" as a real offense and I'm using a "Red" avatar.

I was really referring to the music piracy, but I might not have made that clear. There, I updated my first comment.

But I've never unlocked hardware, heard of grooveshark or used any similar sites, worked in other countries for other countries' companies, connected to wifi I wasn't welcome to, messed with IP, shared service passwords, made a parody account that wasn't explicit in the fact that it was a parody, used Facebook as a sub-13y/o, sat on a domain, bypassed a paywall, or uploaded copyrighted material in a non-"fair use" manner.

As for the ad blocker, since the majority of ad providers are criminally careless with what they let people advertise and include in their links and java/flash exploits (viruses), I disregard the idea of using ad blockers as illegal for the same reason I don't believe in criminalizing people using locks on their doors at night. Most ad blockers allow you to block specific URLs (thus certain careless providers of ads), so there's no need to use it to block all ads.

When billboards can give you a disease by being in your vicinity, and do so at a horrendously high rate, (or walk directly into your path to impede your walking) I will regard doubleclick.net's virus-riddled ads as legitimate as other forms of advertisement.

dilawer4100d ago

you're great then. I've downloaded MP3s for free, streamed videos online and even downloaded torrents. I think many people have done so, except for you.

SilentNegotiator4099d ago

"I think many people have done so, except for you"

But we haven't "all" done it and I know I'm not alone.

dilawer4099d ago

@SilentNegotiator
You may not be alone but you're not the majority. When the article says Everyone or All, it means that everyone has done it at least one of these things once in their lifetime.

SilentNegotiator4099d ago (Edited 4099d ago )

What evidence do you have that pirates are the majority?

Keep in mind, it referred to PIRATES when it started on it's "we all" comment and that's what I was responding to:

"We've all done it. One day it's pirating an album, the next day it's streaming movies from a sketchy site"

Meme pictures don't hurt anyone and Ad blockers aren't criminal. I'm hard pressed to believe that the "majority" has done any of the other things listed. And I mean the majority of *internet users*, not reddit users or whatever.

admiralvic4099d ago

@ Dilawer

"You may not be alone but you're not the majority. When the article says Everyone or All, it means that everyone has done it at least one of these things once in their lifetime."

I would beg to differ and I would also argue that not everything listed here is exactly illegal.

Like a lot of ads are almost criminally intrusive, like viewing N4G on my iPhone sometimes resulted in me getting redirected and having my appstore opened to Candy Crush Saga so I can download an enjoy it. It's one thing when ads are just there to promote things and another when they force me to give them the time of day. I've also seen several companies put up ads that had malware, which instantly makes them libel for damages if this is in fact made illegal.

Using copyrighted content is illegal, but that isn't really something anyone enforces. Companies get a lot of free advertisement and really only pushed for these rights so people can't profit off their work and they would have control in the event that someone was doing something they don't approve of.

Most images are not actually copyrighted and this really falls under the previous example. I would also like to see you ACTUALLY take someone to court for this.

#9, #10, #11 simply violate the terms of service, which is not a formal law and almost always end with them terminating your service. Violate the term? Lose the service. Not much more to it.

#14 actually isn't illegal, since companies are simply finding ways to profit from it. Like if you upload something from Nintendo, then Nintendo will simply profit from the video and you're free to make them as much money as possible.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4099d ago
GuyThatPlaysGames4100d ago

Who hasn't done these? My favorite thing to do is make memes.

Sahil4099d ago

Just about everything is illegal one way or another thanks to a power hungry government that we allow to perpetuate. Just because it's "illegal" it doesn't make it wrong.

admiralvic4099d ago

Indeed.

A lot of laws are very conditional and exist to protect the rights of the owner. Like if you don't like someone doing something with your character, then you're free to take legal action. However, if they don't care, then you're not some bad *** thug who avoided going to jail by not following the rules.

TemplarDante4100d ago

SilentNegotiator must be the pope!
Then again... maybe not, Im sure the pope has done some of these things.

GuyThatPlaysGames4100d ago

I know right. He seems like he's the Virgin Mary of the Internet lol

SilentNegotiator4099d ago

Someone get this lame joke over with and call me "internet Jesus"

KrimsonKody4100d ago (Edited 4100d ago )

I agree;
To some degree, everyone is highly likely to have done something illegal on their phone or internet.
Me, personally, I don't go out looking to pirate anything, but in rare cases, it can be so subtle that you simply never realize that it was illegal. There's no internet rules manual, no warnings or such to inform you that it is or may be illegal. The most I do is get apps from stores & convert YouTube videos into audio. No torrenting, no IP adjusting, etc.
If a app store has an app which lets you download music or videos, doesn't the blame fall primarily on the provider? If it's illegal, it should'nt be allowed in their store. Yeah, I heard the story of how unofficial things can be solicit in these stores, but before penalizing the customer, the stores themselves should be regulated so that access to such material is not allowed.

Sahil4099d ago

Personally, I consider most advertisements a complete waste of my time, a distraction, and a detriment to society. Ad Blocking should be if it's not a constitutional right of the individual. Let's call it "Freedom from Indoctrination."

spektical4099d ago

not sure about the rules of trademarks. If my last name was mcdonalds, i should be able to register an available domain with mcdoanlds, and talk about my hypothetical business, personal life, etc.

dont think courts can rule against legitimate sites. In fact, most times they settle out of court.

Speed-Racer4099d ago

The only law that applies to that is when companies try to use similar names to garner success based off the already popular brand. However if you make it clear that you operate an entirely different type of business, then it shouldn't be an issue but it really comes down to how the court feels about it.

dilawer4099d ago

You can register Superman.com and create a bodybuilding site, no court will take it from you.

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