Porn Pirates Busted by Fake Game Installer

[Nevyrmoore]

I need to ask; is this game actually available for sale in the states? Or is it only available in Japan?

The reason I ask is because I see a number of people saying "THIS IS ILLEGAL!", but if the game was never actually released in the US, and is currently only available in Japan, then the legality of it comes down to one simple question; is it illegal in Japan?

If this is legal in Japan, and the game is only available in Japan, then it doesn't matter what the law in the US says. Because it's not released in the US, it is not confined by US law, only Japanese law. And if they say "Hey guys? This shit is actually legal," there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I am not trying to take the moral high ground, I've been called a troll before for having very controversial opinions.
I never pirated any game, why are you saying that to me?

I assumed you was taking the moral high ground, why would you care about this otherwise?

I never said you steal, I never said you troll, I never said your a pirate. I did say something along the lines that "taking the moral high ground" is laughable.

Having a controversial opinion doesn't make you a troll by the way, it makes you different to the topical opinions of a board but not a troll.

I'm biting though in this case, why are you outraged by this?, at pirates having their privates on display?.

This thing takes a lot of your personal info and and images of you and displays them publically in an embarassing manner.
That's why I am pissed off.

Personal info and images you agree to have put there. It's in the EULA which is like a contract, just because you don't read it before you sign it doesn't make it illegal. All the people who had this happen to them agreed to let it happen to them and they supplied all the info.

 

[Canid117]

This might work in the states if digital porno books became big here but for some reason I doubt that is going to happen.

 

[Nevyrmoore]

I am not trying to take the moral high ground, I've been called a troll before for having very controversial opinions.
I never pirated any game, why are you saying that to me?

I assumed you was taking the moral high ground, why would you care about this otherwise?

I never said you steal, I never said you troll, I never said your a pirate. I did say something along the lines that "taking the moral high ground" is laughable.

Having a controversial opinion doesn't make you a troll by the way, it makes you different to the topical opinions of a board but not a troll.

I'm biting though in this case, why are you outraged by this?, at pirates having their privates on display?.

This thing takes a lot of your personal info and and images of you and displays them publically in an embarassing manner.
That's why I am pissed off.

Personal info and images you agree to have put there. It's in the EULA which is like a contract, just because you don't read it before you sign it doesn't make it illegal. All the people who had this happen to them agreed to let it happen to them and they supplied all the info.

EULAs can't override the law. Unless things are so extremely fucked up that you can put whatever you want in a contract and get away with it regardless of if it's legal or not, because "it's a contract."

At least, that's how it works over here with statutory rights.

 

[Sporky111]

I like this development. I would rather see this being used than DRM, mostly because I don't download stuff.

I would say that posting the IP address and all that is a bit much, but they give the opportunity to take it down. It's a damned good system.

 

[KeyMaster45]

You see, this is how you make effective and acceptable DRM, why can't companies state-side do stuff like this? Hell just follow the arkham asylum method and make it so the game breaks if you get it illegally.

 

[Duffy13]

Seems to be some confusion regarding the legality of the situation.

Using the US as the legal basis (since that's the particular system I am familiar with) we have to make a few quick observations:

1. So long as it is written correctly and you have the option to say "No" a TOS or EULA is a legally binding contract. Let's assume it's written correctly for this case.

2. Does it commit an illegal act? Since collecting and revealing someone's personal information is not illegal when they have that person's permission, which they do according to the properly written and previously accepted TOS/EULA. No, it is not illegal.

The only obvious problem would be the availability of recourse to challenge them or remove the information from the exposure site. So long as that's accessible and clearly defined in the TOS/EULA it should hold up in most courts.

Don't forget that while the "pirates" were "probably" trying to commit an illegal act they actually failed to do so and thus their is no crime to stop a crime scenario that some people are pointing out. There is only the, so far assumed, legal download of a program that uploads some data to a website with the user's permission.

Again, this whole thing appears to be based in Japan so it is possible some of the above does not hold true there.

 

[yoyo13rom]

That is a huge invasion of privacy and is illegal.
I am pissed off now.

EDIT:
I DID NOT PIRATE THAT GAME, I AM PISSED OFF FOR OTHER REASONS!

Yep, you're right. Now when I'll be pleasing myself, I suffer from paranoia, as well.

 

[Tiamat666]

I'm surprised they can legally take a screenshot of your desktop and upload it for the world to see. I mean, what if you have a naked picture of your girlfriend on your desktop. So suddenly your girlfriend is naked on the internet and she didn't do anything wrong.

I think this kind of "piracy prevention" is inadequate.

 

[Rect Pola]

Okay... the terms of service part, premium ROTFL!
Did the real developers make this? They should do stuff like that all the time!

 

[Dogstile]

I'm not totally shure two wrongs make a right. A scare tactic with a Trojan isn't the best way to do this. A virus shouldn't be used as a weapon.

think about it, all the people that cry out that DRM is evil and pirate games get their presonal information posted onto the internet with screenshots of their desktops. it isnt wrong, its hilarious!

go on and lie that your desktop at home is sfw, mine isnt [pillows hitting each other with kids/reverse pillow fight].

Lie? What makes you think that his desktop isn't safe for work? Have you seen his desktop?

Now more on topic. This would be Illegal here. EULA actually holds little ground in court /if/ its asking somebody to agree with something illegal. Aside from that most judges and jurys tend to realise that nobody reads the damn EULA.

Otherwise companies could just put in their EULA's that they now legally own your house, car, children and you now have to stab yourself in the balls. But of course if they put that in there and it was "legal" many people would complain right?

You see, this is how you make effective and acceptable DRM.

See above.

 

[Milkman Dan]

I find it really hard to get mad at this as an "invasion of privacy." You can never be subjected to it unless you pirate the game. You are warned about it in the TOS. I assume that much of the information, besides the screenshot, is taken from the questionnaire during the installation, which you would have to fill out with real information anyway. You would have to allow your firewall to send the information.

Come to think of it, the screenshot is a bit much. But, really, you should know better than to install pirated software and not question anything that it does.

 

[gibboss28]

I'll be honest, I'm not fussed whether or not its legal or illegal. I personally think its fair game, good on them.

 

[GideonB]

This is fucking hilarious. Someone has to crown this the best DRM EVAR xD

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Otherwise companies could just put in their EULA's that they now legally own your house, car, children and you now have to stab yourself in the balls. But of course if they put that in there and it was "legal" many people would complain right?

Looking at that...if you signed a piece of paper stating those exact things, would it be legal?

This particular loophole is that they believe that no-one will sue them on the basis that they have to prove their illegality, which means an immediate counter-sue.

Reading the article though, if they have given their consent AND given that information free of charge, then I can't see a legal problem. The screenshot may be the only aspect of illegality in there, but the BBC did a similar trick by altering screenshots here. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.96800-BBC-Hijacks-PCs-to-Prove-a-Point]

If nothing else, this will be a great test for the lawyers, and for people actually reading EULAs.

 

[Darktau]

I am not trying to take the moral high ground, I've been called a troll before for having very controversial opinions.
I never pirated any game, why are you saying that to me?

I assumed you was taking the moral high ground, why would you care about this otherwise?

I never said you steal, I never said you troll, I never said your a pirate. I did say something along the lines that "taking the moral high ground" is laughable.

Having a controversial opinion doesn't make you a troll by the way, it makes you different to the topical opinions of a board but not a troll.

I'm biting though in this case, why are you outraged by this?, at pirates having their privates on display?.

This thing takes a lot of your personal info and and images of you and displays them publically in an embarassing manner.
That's why I am pissed off.

+1 to this motion! Yeah it was a big screw you to the data protection act. (Doesn't make it any less funny though)

 

[DigitalSushi]

The law states you can't commit illegal things even to criminals regardless of if the criminal agrees to allow you to do it.

It doesn't make it any less funny when the criminal gets their come upence.

 

[pneuma08]

Remember, ToSs and EULAs can never override the law, and the collection and consequent publication of sensitive and private information is extremely illegal. Remember DRM got in trouble for simply scanning files, this thing actually takes your shit and shows it to everyone.

Hmm, this actually seems somewhat difficult to me. On one hand, it CANNOT be illegal for a program to gather sensitive information and upload it somewhere - otherwise programs like TurboTax, Valve's hardware survey, or practically everything Google does would be highly illegal - but what could be illegal is that it's under the guise of another program. This point, however, is mitigated by the Terms of Service clearly laying out what it is doing. I'm not sure what the rest of the installer looks like, but anyone who seeks legal action could have a very uphill battle on their hands.

I could also see legal defenses coming up such as, "it was in an unfinished state and meant for internal use only with a placeholder installer".

That said, their other legal defense doesn't involve the court system at all - anyone who seeks damages is also more or less a criminal, so even if it IS deemed illegal, whoever spearheads legal action is consigning themselves to a pyhrric victory.

Long story short, two wrongs may not make a right, but it can definitively lead to hilarious results!