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The fight against online piracy reached new levels of absurdity after the Copyright Information And Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC) in Finland cracked down on a 9-year-old suspected pirate and had the police seize her Winnie the Pooh laptop. Her crime was to download a song from Finnish pop star Chisu, and her father’s to refuse signing a non-disclosure agreement and pay €600 to settle the charges without prosecution.
TorrentFreak reports that the CIAPC had first contacted the Internet account holder during the spring, informing him that his account had been traced back to an incidence of online file-sharing, and asking for compensation in order to let the case go.
He decided to ignore the letter and this week things escalated as promised, with the police arriving at his doorstep and raiding his house looking for evidence -- his daughter’s notebook.
According to the father’s account, the girl tried to download a number of songs, and a Google search led her to The Pirate Bay. Supposedly the resulting downloads didn’t work so the following day they went to a store to buy music -- whether or not this last bit is true is beyond the point, however. In parting, the police had some advice for the father: “It would have been easier for all concerned if you had paid the compensation.”
“I got the feeling that there had been people from the MAFIA demanding money at the door,” the girl’s father recounted. "We have not done anything wrong. If adults do not always know how to use a computer and the web, how can you assume that children or the elderly knows what they are doing at any given time online? […] It is sad to see how even the big artists have no idea what CIAPC is doing in their name.”
Indeed upon hearing about the situation Chisu apologized to the 9-year-old and pointed to a link on Spotify where her music can be played for free. Electronic Frontier Finland also took note of the case and said it is an indication of just how far copyright enforcement has progressed in Finland.
Pirate girl image via Shutterstock -- not actual suspect.
User Comments: 54
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TorrentFreak reports that the CIAPC had first contacted the Internet account holder during the spring, informing him that his account had been traced back to an incidence of online file-sharing, and asking for compensation in order to let the case go.
Same thing happened to me 5 years ago with exception to the demand for money and mafia breaking down the door. Letter just warned not to keep doing it otherwise the authorities would be notified. Within hours after receiving the letter I had obtained some programs and went on downloading like it was nothing. Today that letter is currently framed next to my vast collection of ever-growing quality bootlegs.
The public must feel really safe at night knowing the police are busting 9-year-olds for downloading horrible music. I know I do.
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What worries me more is the use of non-disclosure agreements. Justice (or even injustice) has to be transparent. If they're making people keep quiet about it then that stinks.
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1 person liked this |
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Same thing happened to me 5 years ago with exception to the demand for money and mafia breaking down the door.
Did you manage to get a replacement Winnie-the-Pooh laptop?
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Anonymous anyone?
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The most disturbing thing to me about this is that the advice of the police (which presumably was neither requested or warranted) was to just have paid the fine. Yes, let's all just roll over to **AA demands without bothering with due process regardless of how (un)justifiable they are or if the individual presented with the fine is even guilty of the accusation.
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"Electronic Frontier Finland also took note of the case and said it is an indication of just how far copyright enforcement has progressed in Finland."
I'd say "digressed" would be more fitting.
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A.Bundy said:
Where's the due process? The fairness? Just an accusation from higher powers and then extortion for "settling the case"? What if you really are innocent?you are absolutely correct. since the police were involved, this can be distinguished as a human rights issue. CIAPC overstepped their boundaries when attacking children by manipulating and using state authorities for means of profiteering, and I think that they should be tried for crimes against humanity. if Finland thinks otherwise, then I suggest that they be removed from the EU immediately. stupidity like this should not be tolerated. When you attack a child for downloading some junk music, then you have to answer to public scrutiny, and I hope someone other than this family pays very dearly.
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Thank goodness we have CIAPC to protect us from 9 year old girls! This world would be such a dangerous place without their help.
Chisu, I have no idea who you are, but I give respect to you for apologizing. I believe that CIAPC acted wrongly in this case. And trust that you didn't personally want this young fan's house raided.
In cases like this, the parents are responsible for the child's actions. (Even if they were adult children living at home with the parent.) The industry can sue the parents for any amount the courts permit.
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In cases like this, the parents are responsible for the child's actions. (Even if they were adult children living at home with the parent.) The industry can sue the parents for any amount the courts permit.And in this case the parent was held responsible. Only the tool that was found to be used in pirating was seized, this is probably standard procedure regardless of age. Other than property being seized, the father was looking at prosecution because the girl was under age.
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misor said:
Piracy is a crime...and so is extortion.
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treetops said:
Whats funny is that we pay the police to protect us and if you ask random strangers on the street, id guess 90%+ would say this is not what they want the police to protect us from.
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This is a bit absurd but we have no one to blame but ourselves. We brought this on ourselves as the Internet using public. They asked ppl to stop pirating. Ppl didn't stop now we have a 9yr old getting arrested. Also I kinda blame Google and TPB. Google put TPB on the top 3 searches. TPB made it available. That poor little girl now has some serious emotional issues. I feel so bad for what she has to deal with
Did you even read the article? The girl is not under arrest, only her PC was taken as it is considered evidence in the copyright infringement case. The only emotional issue she could have about this is that she might miss her Winnie The Pooh laptop.
This is insane. The father teaching the 9 year old daughter how to torrent. And points the child to the pirate bay, later on plays the stupid card. How can you claim that your 9 year old knows more then you about a computer. That is unbelievable news*Search engine pointing to pirate bay is insane. Read the article. The father also never said the girl knows more about computers. "You are not impossible. You are improbable." (c) Sheldon Cooper
The lesson of the story is that record labels suck @ public relations.
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Piracy is a crime...and so is extortion.So basically what you're saying is, "finally, after years of painstaking lobbying and legislation, two wrongs do make a right"!
Oh dear....!
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Oh dear. For a minute there I thought only the republicans across the pond had lost it. Can't get their economies to stop acting funny so go after the ones that can't fight back? Which leader here green lighted the entire operation?
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misor said:So basically what you're saying is, "finally, after years of painstaking lobbying and legislation, two wrongs do make a right"!
Oh dear....!
not really, the girl did commit a crime. (failed crime? failed download? so the crime is not consummated?)
the father, being the legal guardian of the under age girl, must be charged for the piracy or be made accountable for the crime.
but he must not pay the exorbitant price of 600 euros.
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1 person liked this |misor said:Did you manage to get a replacement Winnie-the-Pooh laptop?
no, he got a jack sparrow themed windows vista.
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inabster said:
I wonder what the authorities should do in this case? If they ignore child cases, adults could just hide behind them and get away with anything. It's a lot easier to mock than to provide practical solutions (next week they're coming back for her Beatrix Potter books! - see, I told you it is).I hope you are being sarcastic, otherwise you are a sad case...
to suggest that parents will use their children as human shields is sick, dude!
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inabster said:
Hmmm... and you are hiding behind Guest...
not courageous enough to show your identity... whilst shooting from the hip...
coward!
This is insane. The father teaching the 9 year old daughter how to torrent. And points the child to the pirate bay, later on plays the stupid card. How can you claim that your 9 year old knows more then you about a computer. That is unbelievable news. I understand your not an elite hacker of military sites but everyone hear of torrents. I have no friends that don't know about torrents or the consequences of an unencrypted connection. Least thing you can do is spoof your mac and ip to be untraceable. Or just do it from the library with a laptop you buy on crags list for cash. You would be untraceable. Also do you use your real name on any of the accounts you use on the laptop. Don't even check your email. Users are caught through their habitual use at times. -
@Guest Christ. Seems like on top of attempting to win "the most grammatical mistakes in a response" award you also did not read the article. Buying a laptop and/or spoofing your mac and ip address for a song? Not to mention this is a 9 year old? Get real.
Oh and sorry to burst your bubble but not everyone knows about torrents, despite you and your l33t haxxorz friends knowing about them.
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inabster said:
Let's see...
hmmm... maybe Russia as a humanitarian gesture could turn the gas and oil taps off Finland...
wait Finland has oil, LOL!!
Oops Norway...
yeah Norway should turn the taps off... no fuel for police vehicles... LOL!
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I hope you are being sarcastic, otherwise you are a sad case...
to suggest that parents will use their children as human shields is sick, dude!
No, I'm suggesting that people who are criminals will use their unique combination of cunning & immorality to evade the law. If you reread above, you might see that I am one a the very few posters that gives a damn about the crime committed, rather than banging on about the alleged over-reaction.
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no, he got a jack sparrow themed windows vista.
The lucky, lucky b***ard! (y)
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An anonymous group gifted her with a used macbook pro and the group dont want to be in public because of their "social position"
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So happy that the cops are going after small time crooks instead of murders and rapists.
At least the small time "crooks" pay up, and don't shoot back...
The real criminals have too well payed lawyers to ever get behind bars...
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