Sharman uses DMCA to censor Kazaa Lite out of Google

[TankGirl]

See this thread at UTC.

Sharman's letter to Google is published here at Chilling Effects.

Also discussed on Slashdot.

Being just a search engine Google was not distributing Kazaa Lite but merely providing links to find information about it. DMCA seems to be evolving quickly into a handy censorship tool on Internet. Not good.

- tg

[naz]

Now this is a very dangerous precedent. Are we going to have all searches for "illegal" material filtered out of google? They should have appealed this.

[Ðiego]

So much for the freedom of information..


Ð

[JackSpratts]

google must be taking their time about it.

- js.

[multi]

its a snake chasing its own tail..

let me get this straight..
this company whos users break the DMCA on a regular basis..wants to gag the searchengine from showing results about a modified spyware free version of their program that allows their users to also break the DMCA on a regular basis..

and they are using the DMCA to be able to do this?

[TankGirl]

Sharman has also made a similar DMCA attack against Slyck:


This week Sharman Networks contacted Slyck giving notice of the launch of an advert free version of Kazaa. At the same time Slyck received a DMCA violation notice to remove references to Kazaa Lite. Slyck was not alone as Sharman embarked on a campaign against free speech in an underhand method to promote Kazaa Plus.

It is now known that these DMCA violation notices were filed against Google, Slyck, Zeropaid and other websites.

The DMCA against Google ordered it to remove references to 15 websites that contain information related to kazaa lite. Google have complied but have linked to the notice (on an EFF site) at the bottom of searches related to this violation. One of the websites Sharman asked Google to remove was zeropaid while conducting a search for 'kazaa'. Zeropaid contains 100's of pages articles and discussion related to kazaa, which were previously returned with Google results for this term. They have now all been removed and have been replaced with 1 ZP webpage that links to kazaa.com. The removal of webpages that simply contained comments seems a certain breach of freedom of speech.

In relation to Slyck we were served with this notice ordering the removal of links to 2 kazaa Lite related websites namely http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirro...klitekpp210b2e and http://doa2.host.sk/ . Slyck have complied with the notice. Ray Hoffman, the Website Administrator of Slyck issued this statement in relation to the notice:

"Slyck has recently been issued a DMCA complaint by Sharman Networks, the company that makes the Kazaa Media Desktop software. The complaint states that we are to remove the links to certain pages that are infringing on their copyrights. We were supplied no proof that these pages actually have been found by legal means to be guilty of infringement. We have decided to remove these links while we seek legal council as to this matter. We are saddened that a company that used to be friendly to the P2P world has grown too large and greedy and now seeks to manipulate any avenue to gain it's monetary goals. Slyck.com feels that actions taken on behalf of Sharman Networks are directly opposed to the benefit of the P2P community and we can no longer support the Kazaa Media Desktop. "

Sharman has often been criticised for being too far removed from the p2p community and for having a lack of user contact. This sad episode only enforces this opinion and indicates the lows to which Sharman have stooped in order to promote their new add free kazaa. It also certainly seems rich that Sharman are issuing notices related to alleged copyright violations.

The ironic thing is that links from Google, Slyck and others to the DMCA notice which in turn contain information on these sites may only drive traffic to these Kazaa Lite related websites.

Sharman sucks big time, and FastTrack deserves to die. Yikes.

- tg

[Ðiego]

told ya..

[JackSpratts]

the dmca corrupts and an absolute dmca corrupts absolutely.

congress couldn't be happier, this is exactly what they want.

use your vote.

- js.

[TankGirl]

Sharman's response to Slyck

- tg

[assorted]

I assume we'll still be able to post links to Kazaa Lite at this forum for users who come here asking? Places like this forum and millions of places that HAVEN'T been hit with a DMCA warning can still happily link to kazaalite no problem so I don't see a major effect. Even better, it could make this place a little more popular! hehe.

I don't see this as that big a deal. We all knew what Sharman was about just like we knew when Napster turned a corner and became suckasses. I knew Sharman was horrid when they came up with their 'brilliant' third party ad serving p2p network that hid underneath kazaa.

Sharman's legal sliding with the RIAA is still hella fun to watch, even if it's 2 bad guys duking it out.

It's all fine and good as long as lots of people are still trading.

[pod]

Only certain sites are removed from Google results, the key words haven't been blacklisted so you can still search on them and get hits. It's not the first time Google's bent over either, http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice.cgi . I guess it's just not in their business interest to defend these; they get served a DMCA notice, and as a service provider they follow it to remain within the safe harbor provisions.

[naz]

hey, the scientology people used the DCMA to get their 1000 buck an hour Advanced Technology filtered out, too.

Someone watching a smidge too much Startrek, aye.

THETANS GO AROUND ZAPPING THETANS AS THEY HAVE DONE FOR A VERY LONG TINE, BUT BECAUSE THETANS CAN'T SEE THETANS VERY WELL, PARTICULARLY THETANS WHO DON'T HAVE BANKS, PRETTY INVISIBLE, THEY TAKE IT OUT ON BODIES; AND YOU'LL FIND THIS FAMILIAR. IT'S MUCH MORE PREVELANT AMONGST FAMILIES, ALTHOUGH YOU DO GET IT ELSEWHERE."



"WHAT THEY DO IS ZAP SOMEBODY. AND THEY CAN PUT OUT A BEAM WHICH EITHER HAS BEEN PUT OUT AND PUT OUT AND PUT OUT AND PUT OUT, IN THE CASE OF A FAMILY UNTIL BOY; IS THIS A BEAM TO END ALL BEANS, OR IT'S JUST A MOMENTARY BEAM - THUD, BAP."



"THE WAVELENGTH OF ENERGY IS SOMEWHERE IN THE VIClNITY OF 1 X 10|13,000 centimeters." (High above Ultra-Violet).

[multi]

a recent search for:
waste p2p linux
yeilded these results from google..
alot of these pages are identical and come up for other keywords like kazza lite..emule..etc

they all eventualy lead to payfor p2p sites...it seems
http://www.filesharing-download.de/l...aa_641785.html
www.filesharing-tools.de/worm_47697.html

www.filesharing-toolz.de/beim_781036.html

www.filesharing-toolz.de/

www.filesharing-center.de/

www.filesharing-archiv.de/kazaa-diaet_71257.html
www.filesharing-archiv.de/emule_531887.html

www.download-p2p.de/machen_21033.html
http://www.download-p2p.de/limewire-...ta_865443.html

www.bittorrent-filesharing.de/oder_564723.html