And now people get arrested
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A man has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations agents in connection with streaming live sporting events over the Internet. The 19-year-old allegedly ran HQ-Streams.com and HQ-Streams.net, domains that were previously seized by ICE as part of Operation in Our Sites. In early February 2011, U.S. authorities began the third round of Operation in Our Sites, the process which takes allegedly copyright-infringing sites offline by taking possession of their domain names. This wave of seizures, which took place with the Super Bowl just around the corner, netted 10 domains including Atdhe.net, ChannelSurfing.net, HQ-Streams.com, HQ-Streams.net, Firstrow.net, Ilemi.com, Ilemi.net, Iilemi.com, RojaDirecta.org and RojaDirecta.org. Now the individual behind two of the domains, HQ-Streams.com and HQ-Streams.net, has not only lost his domains but now potentially faces losing his freedom.
Operation in Our Sites: Feds Arrest 19-Year-Old Streaming Site Admin
Last month it was revealed that the UK-based admin of TVShack.net is fighting an extradition request filed by the US government. The site’s domain was seized as part of Operation in Our Sites but according to new comments from ICE, more individuals could now be sought by US authorities. Cutting through jurisdictional issues, ICE say they only need to show one thing to seek extradition of an admin – that his or her ‘pirate’ site has a .COM or .NET domain.
‘Pirate’ Admins Sweat As ICE Reveal Extradition Criteria
British website owners could face extradition to the US on piracy charges even if their operation has no connection to America and does something which is most probably legal in the UK, the official leading US web anti-piracy efforts has told the Guardian. The US's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is targeting overseas websites it believes are breaking US copyrights whether or not their servers are based in America or there is another direct US link, said Erik Barnett , the agency's assistant deputy director. As long as a website's address ends in .com or .net, if it is implicated in the spread of pirated US-made films, TV or other media it is a legitimate target to be closed down or targeted for prosecution, Barnett said.
US anti-piracy body targets foreign website owners for extradition
Feds Arrest Owner of Seized Sports Streaming Domain
In the past several months, U.S. authorities have seized several domain names that were allegedly facilitating copyright infringement, and yesterday U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced the first arrest. The 32-year-old Texan Bryan McCarthy was arrested and has been charged with criminal copyright infringement. Meanwhile, the site associated with these criminal charges remains active.
HSI agents arrest website operator that illegally streamed copyrighted sporting events
March 3, 2011 New York, NY HSI agents arrest website operator that illegally streamed copyrighted sporting events NEW YORK - The operator of a website that illegally streamed live, copyrighted sporting events on the Internet was arrested this morning by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
As part of Operation in Our Sites, in mid-2010 the US government seized the domain name of TVShack.net. The site was operated by 23-year-old UK-based student Richard O’Dwyer who is now subject to extradition proceedings. Today his mother speaks out, detailing the trauma the family is going through and asking that people help Richard by signing a petition in the hope that he can face justice at home, not thousands of miles away across the Atlantic.
TVShack: The Human Cost of Extradition, a Mother’s Story