RCMP says modifying a video game console punishable by ten years.

[SimuLord]

So now you can go to jail for ten years along side the people who fake electronic data to defraud a bank or place worms in corporate databases to steal passwords and trade secrets... all because you wanted to play a game you purchased from your HDD without the disk.

Sorry, calling bullshit on that. Everyone I know who's modified their console has done it for one universal reason, piracy. Sure a couple people might do it for this reason, but honestly they can just get up and change the disc.

While I think the punishment is way to severe, I do believe people who are caught pirating should have some form of punishment associated with it. Why not just have them pay a fine instead? Wouldn't that be a lot more reasonable?

Because fining people who don't have the money to buy games is taking nothing from nothing. Jail time is a real deterrent.

 

[Mr. In-between]

God bless America

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

QFT from the comments on that 'article'

Listen up People!

My wife is a law and ethics professor. This article if full of lie's and half truths.

First of all the kids' in trouble because it appears he was distributing copyright matierial he didn't own. Not a little but a lot!

Second of all "Modifying a console and computer is considered an illegal act under section" is the biggest lie of all from Mr RCMP fool.

Cops are always trying to enforce new laws that won't hold up in court. This is because Canadian citizens have the "Charter of Rights" that protects us from power hungry politicians pushing infringing legislation on are GOD GIVEN RIGHTS!

Their has never been a Canadian found guilty for only modding/ programming a console, let alone a toaster.

Just because you mod a console doesn't mean or PROVE your pirating anything! Your well within you rights, just like breathing Air.

BTW..If you think modding things you own should be illegal your a mindless SHEEP! Sorry your mad, Go bow down to your masters.

Also something we talked about the night we saw that article, as we too couldn't figure out how 342.1 (if I remember right) could ever be stretched to cover modifying consoles that play games. A half decent lawyer would have the case thrown out sooo fast it would make the whole court spin. The very fact that the RCMP even tried to suggest that it is on par with hacking a bank account was... bizarre.

I too don't see them being successful, but the fact they are trying is still... sad, just sad.

Still the amount of people who said 'oh this is right, but the jail time is a little unfair' made me blink for this very reason. Nor does it matter if they never get 10 years jail time, as others tried to point out as if justifying this, dare I say it, breach of law and common sense. It was the simple fact the police are taking a civil matter and trying to make it criminal that was insane and interesting.

I didn't think we would find so many sheeple on the escapist but... wow... eye opener.

 

[Wolfram23]

God bless America

You mean the place where they sent a guy to prison for owning some hentai featuring underage girls? Riiiiight.


Anyway, 10 years is the max for pirating stuff if you read the article they found a guy with 300 illegal copies of games, as well as equipment to do said copying. If all you have is a mod chip to play imports or switched out the HDD they wouldn't even blink an eye.

 

[Audioave10]

Mostly scare tactics here.

 

[Utarefson]

10 years are just for the scares.
You can get up to 5 years for piracy in germany, but i have yet to see one pirate go to jail for even one day. Mostly they just have to pay the copyrightcosts instead.

 

[SturmDolch]

It's the RCMP... They won't enforce it. They'll prosecute some single mom for doing it to make an example of her, then never prosecute anyone else again. That's how the RCMP rolls.