Sad to see you go...

The internet community was hit hard this week as the popular website TV Links was shut down and the Gloucester police arrested the site's creator (for more on this story, check out these articles: The Guardian | Online Community Mourns | FACT Targets the Little Guy | Digital Spy on FACT | A State-side Reaction | Further Analysis).

This was not the first time someone has gotten in trouble with the law for computer and web usage that infringes on trademark and copyright issues, and it will most-assuredly not be the last. Without self-incrimination, I can say that I am sad to see TV Links go. It was an amazing website, the vastness of the link archive was truly awe-inspiring and exciting. Discovering new TV shows that you had never seen, catching up on missed episodes, reminiscing with an old Transformers cartoon... I can honestly say that TV Links was one of my all-time favorite websites.

But what is disconcerting about this action isn't the loss of a fun website, because really there are lots of similar websites out there (here's a list to get you started), but I worry about the legitimate legal basis for this. As some of the articles and blogs have commented, this man still hasn't been charged and authorities aren't entirely sure what to charge him with. Of course the idea is that they arrested him because his website was providing pirated content to users. But his website was not hosting the content, only linking (hence the site's name) to other sites that publish the videos. So really, his website was just a collection of links to other people's stuff. Is that illegal? Does that count as "inducement?" Even if it does, since this was a UK-based website, "inducement" isn't a recognized or punishable offense in Britain. On top of that, the majority of the content this site linked to was published on foreign (primarily southeast Asian) websites, which are outside the jurisdiction of the British police and courts.

And why is FACT going after this small-time guy instead of some of the bigger sites out there? Is it because they know he won't be able to defend himself or afford a good lawyer? Is it because YouTube has become so popular, not only with users, but also with reporters and news commentators as their pop-culture-relevance flavoring touch, trying to stay young and hip?

I am really sad to see this amazing site go, but I also feel bad for this young man who provided so much for so many people around the world and now has been targeted by the "big guns" and is pretty much hung out to dry. It's just sad....