Külföldi torrent oldalak Illegal Netflix-style Popcorn Time Could Lead To Trouble For Users

IT’S been dubbed “the Netflix of piracy” and with one quick download, provides users with an extensive and free catalogue of movies and TV shows.
It sounds too good to be true. That’s because what it allows you to do is not legal, and could land you in a lot of trouble.

Once downloaded, Popcorn Time allows users to scroll through a seemingly endless library and stream movies and TV shows with one click of the mouse.

The application can be downloaded like any other program and has proved wildly popular in Europe and the US. But rights holders are beginning to fight back in what has become a new battleground for illegal downloading.

“Technically, Popcorn Time’s software is not illegal. But the vast majority of people who use Popcorn Time’s software are doing so to engage in an illegal activity,” Melbourne copyright lawyer Shaun Miller told news.com.au.

It’s unclear how many Australians use Popcorn Time, but those that do will be paying close attention to the outcome of a row between pro-copyright group Rights Alliance and users in Norway. The group has threatened to sue between 51,000 and 75,000 people in the country who use the program. According to the latest reports, Norwegian authorities have warned people to expect “a surprise in the mail”.

Mr Miller is an expert in entertainment and copyright law and said he thinks it’s possible that rights holders could come after Australian users of the program if successful elsewhere. “There is a lot of pressure on the federal government coming from right’s holders (to crackdown on pirates),” he said.

Although it has the feel of privacy, the Popcorn Time application is by no means private, as users connect to public BitTorrent swarms and — as in the recent Dallas Buyer’s Club case — monitoring firms and copyright holders are able to trace pirates.

“On top of the legal issues surrounding Popcorn Time, the service has been proven to have security vulnerabilities potentially allowing hackers to gain complete access and control of a computer connected to the service,” Chief Technology Officer at Intel Security Mike Sentonas told news.com.au.

“Anyone looking to use the service should be very wary of not only the risk to their computer, but importantly consider risk to their personal information and data that potentially could be compromised,” he said.

Legal action has been launched in the United States targeting 11 users of the application in Oregon.

The makers of Adam Sandler’s latest film The Cobbler have targeted the users who streamed it illegally via Popcorn Time. It’s not entirely understood why they zeroed in on Popcorn Time users specifically, but some contend that the image of the application as flouting copyright laws could help bolster the case.

“Popcorn Time exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to steal copyrighted content,” the complaint reads.

Like in the Dallas Buyer’s Clubcase, if a similar action was launched against Australian users, it would ultimately hinge on internet service providers revealing the identity of users — something which Mr Miller believes would be unlikely to eventuate.

Meanwhile, in a letter to Torrent Freak, the application’s developers blamed restrictions and geo-blocks placed on content by Hollywood producers for the success of the application.

“People are ready to pay a fee, but a lot of them currently refuse to pay for a petty catalogue with country-specific restrictions,” they said.

It’s a common lament by consumers in Australia, where the market for streaming services is so fractured that customers are unable to access a single streaming service with a comprehensive catalogue. The only legal option is choosing the most desirable service, or paying for multiple platforms.

“The internet has brought people closer, and they start to notice that some things aren’t acceptable. And then they turn to alternatives, even if it means diving into illegality,” the Popcorn Time developers wrote.

It’s a notion that Mr Miller rejects entirely. “With legal streaming sites such as Netflix and Stan being so relatively inexpensive to use, it would take a hard-heart for someone to still be illegally downloading,” he said.

“Using sites such as Popcorn Time will ultimately be counterproductive to consumers of film and television content because it will diminish the incentive for those creators to create content, if such creators are not being compensated legally and adequately,” he said.

Denmark has also taken a strong approach to cracking down on users and earlier in the month arrested two individuals alleged to be operating websites offering how-to guides on the piracy software.

The websites contained no actual links to download the application and the arrests have been condemned by many online as being heavy handed.

Popcorn Time first appeared in early 2014 after it was created by a group of Argentinian developers and localised into 44 different languages. However it was abruptly taken down a short time later after the developers grew concerned about potential legal action.

“Our experiment has put us at the doors of endless debates about copyright infringement and copyright, legal threats and the shady machinery that makes us feel in danger for doing what we love,” they said in statement.

However since the software used to create the platform is in open source, it has been recreated. The original website now directs to a new version which has since been endorsed by the Argentinian developers as the official successor.

The launch screen of Popcorn Time says the program is “made with love by nerds around the world” but the FAQs section does contain some cautionary advice for users.

“Use at your own risk”, it reads. A warning that is well worth heeding.