All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis
|
|
|
16 Jan 2012
A computer science student from Sheffield is facing five years in a federal prison after a judge ruled he could be extradited to the US to face charges of copyright infringement.
Richard O'Dwyer, a 23-year-old student at Sheffield Hallam university, set up the TVShack.net web site nearly four years ago, offering users links to web sites where they could download copyrighted content including movies and TV programmes.
In a Westminster Magistrates Court ruling, it was revealed that the US government finally seized the URL in 2010, but that within a day, O'Dwyer had switched the site to TVShack.cc and "carried on as before".
The US government also claimed that the student made more than $230,000 from the site.
In his ruling, district judge Quentin Purdy dismissed the defence's arguments that too much time had passed since the crime and that O'Dwyer was innocent of copyright infringement because his site only posted links to other illegal download sites.
The case echoes that of NASA hacker Gary McKinnon who has fought a ten-year battle over extradition to the US, where he could face up to 70 years in a maximum security jail.
UK-US extradition laws have been widely criticised ever since former Labour prime minister Tony Blair signed up to them as part of the ill-fated war on terror in the wake of the attacks in September 2001.
Latest stories from Security
Related articles
Related jobs
Poll
Are you confident that the UK's IT infrastructure is secure from attack in the wake of the Flame malware revelations?
V3 examines the key strengths and weaknesses of Samsung's latest iPhone killer
Connect with V3.co.uk
Social networking is almost ubiquitous. This white paper examines the benefits and risks and it looks at the different ways companies can reconcile them
The importance of understanding your infrastructure
The Role: As a Field Service Engineer working from...
The Role: Make the most of your IT knowledge in one...
Head of IT / Infrastructure Manager (Marketing Services...
A Multi-national data analytic's and cloud computing...
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.
Do you agree?
Google Links too
Google is the top site provides these types of links, just search for the latest movie and put 'xvid' in the query. Why is there no case against Google. How is this extradition even legal. btw. this site would also be liable for legal action if this comment gets posted as it tells users how to find copyrighted material.
Posted by: Augh 21 Jan 2012
Rubbish Law
America should be told by the UK that we will not extradite this UK student to them and that if the Americans wish to bring a case against him do so in the UK.
Posted by: Roy Grant 20 Jan 2012
Big Boots
Americans have always had big enough boots to defend their lives and property, (luckily for you Brits). Copyright infringement is theft and those engaged in it should stop stealing and find something constructive to do for a living.
Posted by: Sargent York 18 Jan 2012
Who rules Who?
What is going on here? This happened here, not in America and therefore should only be able to be tried here. The Americans are getting far too big for their boots - but then haven't they allways?
Posted by: AntonyMiller 17 Jan 2012
Wrong
It is completely morally wrong to extradite someone for this. He is not a terrorist, he didn't even infringe anyone's copyright. The site was like a small specialised Google. He is not responsible for what other companies host.
Posted by: Stephen 16 Jan 2012