p2pnet - rss feed: www.tv-links.co.uk, criminal linker
p2pnet news | Freedom:- Linking to and from is quite literally the life blood of the Net.
Without it, cyberspace would be an almost empty vacuum, populated only thinly with arid, self-serving posts from deeply vested interests.
But ‘linking’ is becoming the de facto ‘crime’ of the day, with scabrous entertainment mob hit units leading the way.
It’s being used by various corporate concerns, with the entertainment and software cartels well to the fore, to squash anything they don’t like.
One of the most recent sites to go offline www.tv-links.co.uk, banished by the cartels’ so-called Federation Against Copyright Theft.
Its crime? Linking.
Says one p2pnet Reader’s Write:
Damn, that’s why it was down. I used to use TV-Links to watch tv shows and documentaries if they where taking to long to download in BitTorrent. The quality was lo res for about 90% of videos anyway and most of the documentaries where from google video so why don’t they file a law suit for google, oh wait they’re a huge corporation and they can do what they want without question.
“Tv links didnt host any video content whatsoever,” says another, going on:
It has been shut down, but the sites it linked to (youtube, dailymotion, stage6) are still up. So now linking to possibly pirated content is a harsher crime than hosting it.
Lets put this into perspective. If you give directions to the pub to a kid who asks, then the kid gets served because the bartender never asked for proof of age. YOU go to jail while the bartender just gets a fine and continues to work at the pub. What a wonderful age we live in.
“It’s a pity the Gloucestershire Police started with such small fry,” observes Jack Schofield on Guardian Unlimited.
He goes on:
There are a couple of multibillionaires called Larry Page and Sergey Brin - the founders of Google - who provide vast numbers of links to content that is being illegally distributed. Indeed, as everyone knows, they actually host plenty of illegal content on their own video site, YouTube, which has a UK operation.
Is the message that it’s less criminal to host illegal content on YouTube than it is to to link to it from a site such as TV Links? Or is it just that FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and the police won’t tackle anybody with enough high-powered lawyers to fight back? Is The New Freedom blog correct in saying: “They just have so much money that they have become above the law.” is it has
Earlier in the year p2pnet had the dubious distinction of being among a host of individuals and companies to be named in Canada’s first anti-linking defamation lawsuit.
Behind it is one man, Wayne Crookes, a Vancouver, BC, businbessman who’s proving how just effective the tactic can be.
He single-handedly scared off a large number of on- and offline Canadian print and electronic media outlets. Instead of running what should be have been headline stories, complete with profiles of Crookes, they ran nothing, fearful of also ending up on his hit list.
Adds Schofield:
“Indeed, if linking is illegal, we might as well shut down the Internet, because there is no practical way anybody can guarantee the legality of what’s on the end of any link. Even if you could guarantee it at the time of linking, there’s no guarantee it would still be legal less than a second later, or for the rest of time.”
Also See:
de facto ‘crime’ of the day - STOP IT OR WE’LL SUE YOU!, October 19, 2007
www.tv-links.co.uk - UK’s www.tv-links.co.uk busted, October 20, 2007
Guardian Unlimited - Major pirate website shut down, October 19, 2007
anti-linking defamation lawsuit - Google sued for online defamation, June 29, 2007
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October 22nd, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Well, if the whole point of the site is to link copyright-infringed material, why shouldn’t they be taken down? It’s as if you guys are a bunch of whiners for a loophole being plugged.
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I have used tv-links also and it is great. You don’t have to search for a link on your own. They have all the links to youtube and stage6 or whatever.
This is so bullshit that they got busted.
The police or what they are callt FACT or something. they are just stupit, take the real people that are copying the movie’s and stuff. Dont blame tv-links they are just people who set links on there page to other sites.
This is just stinky really this bullshit f*ck the FACT.
Greatz GReddy
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:20 pm
think of those poor actors they can’t afford their Ferrari to $10m they have to buy one for $9m instead - Shame on you
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
It wasn’t just about loopholes and watching movies, it was about watching things you can’t find anymore. I mean, they had tv shows on there that I hadn’t seen since I was a kid that you can’t find anymore. I will deeply miss tv-links. TV-Links dude, I salute you.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
“Well, if the whole point of the site is to link copyright-infringed material, why shouldn’t they be taken down? It’s as if you guys are a bunch of whiners for a loophole being plugged.”
That “loophole” is the right to bring to light what is already out there. Even if there is an IP protection problem (and I said IF), it does not fall on those whom merely show where the information is being displayed to solve it.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Yes, but the loophole wasn’t plugged. Linking is still legal, and thereby, the people running TV-links weren’t guilty of anything. They weren’t downloading or uploading proprietary content, they weren’t video-taping in a theatre. They were only linking stuff that was uploaded to other independent sites. The legal ground on which FACT stands is extremely tenuous, and they are given far too much reign to waste taxpayer money on small symbolic gestures while serious pirating goes on relatively unhindered.
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:33 am
I really miss tv-links.those guys had the best stuff \.those FACT guys should get the people doin the loadin and not the linking..why is it that I dont see wat sense they made in shutting down tvlinks..wen u hv a prob u start with the root of the problem not the branches..the branches come after.and I think also google has videos why werent they arested.think one of the roots is there HEY U FACT PPLE!!!!!!!!!!
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
there is no way that tv-links is going down for this, the case against them just isnt strong enough for a conviction of anything. this is probubly just a scare tactic that publishers are using to spook other “linkers” into supporting the “infringement” of their “material”. the worst that will happen is that tv-links will be down for a month at the most and, in the worst case senario, have all their data deleted so they would have to remake it in order to start back up. this whole thing is a big piece of crap, it wont ever hold up in court.
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm
The fact of the matter is this: somebody doesn’t like the idea of us surfers watching old syndicated shows or well translated and subbed shows from other parts of the world. The corporate world doesn’t like the bottom line being hurt; so why not go to this site who gives the links to freely watch shows and bust them since tv links creators spent much time and effort bringing all these links together.
Why not ask tv links creators to let FACT use this site to go and hunt down the ones who illegally uploaded these videos on the net? If there is no legality in hosting links, then use the links and shut down everyone who ever had a video on this site! Fair is Fair!!
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Disclaimer: I’ve only seen 2 stories on this website so I can’t say for sure I know exactly how you guys do things, but…
I’ve been using tv-links for a while now, grateful for it’s existence and surprised (when I found out how many of my friends and co-workers knew about it) that it hadn’t been shut down. When the day finally came and I needed answers, your website was the one I found to give them to me (thank you, btw).
Unfortunately, that’s where the praise ends. To be honest, I agree with some of what “sk8rpro” said. When it comes down to it, you guys are just whiners. No matter how much you rant your heads off here, it’s not going to make a difference. The FACT people aren’t going to come to this site, read your comments, and magically acquire a change of heart.
So… instead of whining to each other, how about we find and provide FACT contact information so you can voice your concerns there (in a thoughtful and organized manner so they don’t write you off as fanatic freeloaders), bring this up to Google/Stage6/etc. (in a similar fashion, but forceful enough for them to understand that you could organize FACT against them), get FACT to go after Google (think about it… if Google fights and wins it’ll set a precedent that’ll free up the legal issues for sites like tv-links), or some other idea you guys could come up with.
Point is: don’t just talk about it, be about it!!!
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:06 pm
This war on linking by the “catels” of entertainment and software industries would seem to me, to have one effective solution. DROWN THEM in links. The internet was built on the sharing of information and links thease people see that as a threat and seemingly seek to destroy it for thier finacial gain. What the law currenty states is irrelavent as the law will change either by thier coperate manipulation or the people at larg. I say let it be the people at larg. Drown them!
October 24th, 2007 at 6:31 am
tv links is one fo the best website i have found in a long i dont have to go hopign to web site to website looking for diffent moives, anime, and other thing i have use tvlink many time before and i think it should be put back up
October 24th, 2007 at 6:47 am
I have made the following site so people can post news and comment on this subject all in one place, and hopefully raise a good deal of support. Please check it out and tell people.
http://www.save-tv-links.co.uk
Anyone who has any ideas that would make this site more functional please get in touch.
Elton1
October 24th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Facilitation of copyright infringment…?!? Come on men..!! i can’t believe it… there’s no way linking is illegal, not a chance. that would make us all pirates. why don`t they shut down you tube or google. If that’s the case, I’m sure Google is the biggest “facilitator” of the world… ha ha ha but i’m taking all this in a real cool way, cause i found in sidereel the fountain that calms my thirst for tv series and movies..! LOL so that you can be calm too, here goes the link http://www.sidereel.com Oh, no..!! i just linked and facilitated piracy..!! who’s gonna protect me now..?? ha ha ha
October 24th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
does anyone know where or how can we have access to our great “tv-link”? tv dudes it is a batle not the war. Google isn’t righ, so bring back our tv link!!
October 24th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
this sucks, i bet there are alot more sites out there that do the same as tv-links if not, better, i dont know why they took it down if its still going on anyway in others, which i know of, but i wont tell cause they might put that on hit list also… whoever was hosting tv-links or the creator of the site, just know im rooting for you anyway,… and now i will finish this by saying, im going to watch 13 days of night on some other website and hopefully saw 4 on saturday, A DAY LATER AFTER IT COMES OUT!! OMG! =O …. yea take that… BOOMSHAKALA BABY!!
:P 
October 24th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
i used tv-links and it kicked but. i thought it was the coolist thing ever.
the videos were clear and audio was great butt when i heard that it was
shut off i was pissed and in still pissed so who ever filed the lawsuit ruind every thing for
everyone that like to surf the net.
October 24th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Cant believe its been shut down i used to use it every evenin to watch new films n ld tv shows it will be greatly missed R.I.P TV LINKS
:.(
October 25th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
can’t we do something to sabotage FACT?
October 25th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Damn this sucks, tv links kicked butt. I mean it made everything so much easier to find when it came to multimedia. Fact sucks! I can see their little scandalous wheels working. This site was free, and didn’t do alot of advertising, where as all the other bigger corps like google and yahoo and so on, made their big money on advertising crap while you used their search engine. hmmm. Makes you think doesn’t it. Either use their crap or don’t use anything that might compramise their money making.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:22 am
theyre all pussies, your right they wont attack someone that can fight back, but they have a budget and need to keep their jobs somehow, and so forth they pick on the little guy to try and send a message… but they dont know cyberspace, keep police out of it. My other HUGE deal with all media piracy is that if hollywood and the film cartels and music industries made something good that was actually worth buying we wouldnt have this problem, instead we get good luck chuck and 50 remakes of Halloween and Saw for chrissakes… if i see something and its good i will pay money for it… or i will see the band live, but stop trying to sell us thru false advertising mind you, a shitty movie or a shitty album that we wouldnt buy unless u forced it down our throats
October 26th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Being able to watch films with out paying should encourage companies to work on a better quality of films, to a standard which the audience will want to pay more for. To this extent linking to copyright infringed films is doing a favour to cinema.
(Just like Radiohead’s new album)
October 26th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Wow tried last night to look at the site and now its gone.Well they will be more links to go to soon,fight the power people
October 26th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Well, if it isn’t legal in the US and the UK to link to other pages , it means that websites should move to different countries for hosting. But honestly, how can linking be ilegal???
I sincerely hope nothing happens to tv links owner, but I will watch this closely.
In the mean time, do checkout www.flickpeek.com for some hot movies and videos. I’m a mod there.
Regards
October 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I was watching a movie linked by tv-links from my browser cache and loading in a 4-parter at the time the site was taken down. I had 1 of 4 loaded and the rest wouldn’t load. I was (cyber-)there when they were busted, I guess.
It’s too bad, and I might feel differently if the ops had been making money hand over fist. Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but at least tv-links didn’t bother its users with endless adverts.
A lot of the links were to vids that have little or no commercial appeal, and now those things will be harder to find. Will I or a Chinese correspondent get in any trouble if he e-mails me links to the very same streams hosted in China? Is it a “crime” to e-mail the plain text URL?
If the quality of the vids was better (i.e. without 1/3 of the screen filled with subtitles and logos), I’d install the non-Euro languages pack on my computer and hunt for them myself.
October 27th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
fug dat i say we start a war agAINTS DEASE B***TCHES
October 28th, 2007 at 6:13 am
tv-links guye.. we salute you
FACT..you’re a bunch of to$$ers, and thats a fact!
i’m off to joox.net.
October 28th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
So if a website promoted links to child porn, but did not host or film the content then they are fine? No I think not my friends, The 26 year old guy from tv-links will be in jail for at least 5 years. Fact got it right, The guy made a fortune through Google Adsense, People who break or promote copyright law will now get what they deserve.
David Allen
www.fact-uk.org.uk
October 28th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
this is fucking ballox i dont know anything about any legal stuff, but tv-links was the best website on the internet FACT!!!! who ever shutit down are assholes, got their noses so far up each others ass’s tht they cnt see past whats right and wrong bless em
October 28th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
queeer dave pisssofff!!! was tv-links promoting child porn NO i think not my friend!! youve got it all wrong sunshine, promoting links to your favourite tv shows for example PRISON BREAK is completely diferent to promoting link to child porn you spazzz
October 29th, 2007 at 9:51 am
taking tv-links off the net was the most stupid sh*t i have ever seen and i hope the people responsible suffer a long and painfull death!
October 29th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Counterfit and Piracy, Sounds like the Federal Reserve in America, oh yes, you have a world bank too! Printing money out of thin air and stealing it from everyone through inflation. I guess thats not a problem. Posting a link to a video, now that is a real dangerous crime!
October 30th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
why did you ban tv-links.co.uk? havent you people got nothing better to do then ban tv-show websites how about banning child porn sites or pro-aerexic sites but you what you can ban that site cause, we’ll find another one hahaha (typing in google NOW lol)
October 31st, 2007 at 12:00 pm
this sucks!! i love tv-links ¬¬ GO BANN SOME CHILD PORN SITES OR SOMETHING and leave tv-links alone -.-
its so unfair!!!!
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:20 am
Fuck Youtube And Fuck Google Fuck A Copyright And A License………………………OOHH Ya And Fuck The Fuckin’ Po-lice, I Ba-rey D’os Kaca-roaches!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People, People Have Faith All Of Us Know That “Tha Link Will Be Back” -A Very Pissed Off Citizen-
November 5th, 2007 at 7:42 am
I think its complete bullshit that they took the site down. The article is right. they need to be going after the people that host the shit, not the people that just help us find it.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Man TV_Links was the best ever site everything was so perfect that was my top site for tv-shows movies etc ill miss it but this isnt over for the people the police and who ever shutdown this website its pay back time bitches this site will be up and up and going no fucking way will u take us down!!!!!!! we stand united as one TV-Links!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =’{
November 9th, 2007 at 12:14 am
fact-uk.org.uk
this is facts email
everyone here should flood the hell out the their mailbox with what we are saying here
cmon guys we have to work to change this shit
——————————————————————————————————-|
AND FUCK ALL THESE CONSERVATIVE FAGGOTS WHO THINK PIRATING IS LINKED TO OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES, THAT IS A BIG LINE OF BULLSHIT
WE ARE JUST PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO WATCH MOVIES IF THEY WERE HD QUALITY MOVIES WITH DVDS MENUS I COULD SEE THE PROBLEM BUT GODDAMN
November 12th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
oh man, i really miss tv-links >.
November 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 am
its all part of the new world order.
sit back
relax
and watch your life fall apart.