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Feds Crack Down on Internet Pirates

by Alec Matias, Jul 01, 2005 10:51am PDT

FBI agents, working with investigators in ten other countries, shut down at least eight major pirate groups that were serving pirated works of movies, music, and games. Called Operation Site Down, the global effort recovered over $50 million of media.

FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches, starting Wednesday, arresting four people, seizing hundreds of computers and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works.
The four arrested were U.S. citizens and their efforts targeted release groups, trying to stop the piracy at its source. Those arrested could be sent to prison up to 10 years under a new law signed by President Bush last week. This isn't the first piracy raid and it won't be the last; guys, it just doesn't pay to warez.


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42 Threads | 138 Comments*
  • #137
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    By: rpdillon x
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    Ya know, ths whole phenomenon is really interesting.

    I think we could take a step or two towards making the whole industry a little less "elite". Just like the music industry. Right now, people basically cannot afford to buy 25 games a year @ $60 each (igure on $120/month, plus the price of the console/computer). That simply represents a MAJOR investment. Similarly with music - very few people own 10,000 CDs, but a lot would like to.

    I think the industries should be lower prices across the board and pulling in new customers. We have enough people in this country/world to generate really vast economies of scale. Tons of people that currently warez would move over to paying $5 or $10 for a game. We could have an iTunes equivalent for games. Put in $50 or $100 dollars and you can download new games as they come out, perhaps playing free demos that you download as you go, to make a decision. Each one costs $10, say. I would be you that it would be a viable business model for the video game industry. And when a game sucked, you wouldn't feel like you'd been raped because you paid so much for it.

    It would also let you try out a ton of games, and make games less of a "upper class only" type of entertainment, which is certainly where we're headed, what with consoles costing upwards of $300, and games at $60 each.
    Jul 02, 2005 11:16am PDT

    Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.

  • #97
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    By: rosewood This person is cool! x
    Reply
    I read this as just an hour ago I drove past a market that sells any game, movie, or patent infringing electronic gaming device that you would want. Fake nintendos, fake movies, fake games, etc. More "piracy" then you could toss an FBI agent at.

    But lets bust a few internet rings instead of focusing on true problems. A few go down, a few more go up. This time more private, smarter, harder to trace. More groups set up internationally as differences in speed decrease between me and dallas and me and holland. The problem stays the same and we keep tossing money at it. Not because we want to keep kids off drugs. Not because we are affraid of people blowing up buildings. But because RIAA, MPAA, and others can make up loss statistics we waste our money. Clinton, Bush ... both have failed here.
    Jul 01, 2005 4:04pm PDT