OT: Channelsurfing.net seized by feds

Submitted by Wolverine In Exile on

Heavy hand of the Man is at it again.... one of my favorite streaming sports sites, channelsurfing.net has been seized by the Feds as part of the new crackdown on unauthorized content distribution on the web. You can go to the website (www.channelsurfing.net) to see what a seized website looks like. thing is, channelsurfing.net didn't stream the broadcasts themselves, they were more an aggregator of links to different streaming broadcasts on many different sites. Guessing other us-based sites will soon be shut down as well. Might be well for Brian or mods to watch links regarding streaming broadcasts from being posted, lest some overzealous Columbia grad working for the federal prosecutors in NY who didn't get into Michigan Law decides to take some revenge.

Tater

February 9th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^

I would hate to see Brain risk all of the work he has done on this blog and get nickel-and-dimed by  AOL/Time-Warner/Disney's lapdogs.  

Whenever the entertainment industry thinks someone besides them is ripping off the artists, "due process" no longer applies.  I would be all for a moratorium/ban on posting links here if it would help.  Maybe those mgomembers in the legal profession could weigh in here.

Geaux_Blue

February 9th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^

because all they'd have to assert is that an ongoing illegal activity is occurring that no measures were taken to prevent. law prevents message board/site owners from being held responsible for the autonomous actions of users BUT a casual relationship can be determined rather easily.

example of such a loose, albeit not-worth-it association

ads make mgoblog a profit stream
posters with torrent/streaming sites create posts, include links in their signature

thus

mgoblog makes ad revenue profit via normal traffic and the illegal material available linked on this site

 

Boyz N Pahokee has been rather candid about not caring what the feds do and being willing to do whatever to keep it going in comments on the site, which doesn't help things much either.

CWoodson

February 9th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^

Your pro-Brian sentiment is great, but we both know there is a 0.0% chance the feds will seize Mgoblog for users sharing stream links in comment posts 6 times a month.  The sites seized were the biggest linkers to these streams on earth, with dozens (sometimes hundreds) of links a day.  ICE is taking heat from some Congressmen for even taking those sites down without adequately considering speech issues and international comity (particularly with the Spanish site rojadeportes or whatever, which Spanish courts already OK'd).

And those sites are also back up, which has happened before when ICE does this, so I'm not sure what their long-term goal is (obviously Brian wouldn't want to risk this if there were any actual risk).

Also, to OP - bizarre anti-Columbia Law sentiment.  Hi hater?

CRex

February 9th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^

I always love seeing the Homeland Security logos on these seizures.  I figure if they have time to go after streaming sites, terrorism must not be a threat anymore and we can disband them.  I'm sick of getting an old fashioned from the TSA everytime I fly. 

MI Expat NY

February 10th, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^

I understand the sentiment, but these sites do pretty blatantly break the copyright laws.  Sure, i've used the sites when I've been unable to watch a sporting event either due to location (i.e. out of the country, at my desk at work, etc.), and I'm not even sure there is any real harm in allowing the sites, but did anyone ever really think that these sites were kosher?  

If content providers want to fight them, even if some think it's ultimately stupid, that's their perogative.  I think the recent push is more of a result of the booming legitimate online streaming industry.  Disney doesn't want somebody watching a college football game on ADTHE when they could be watching that game on ESPN3.  And frankly, I get that.  Disney is the company spending the money to produce the program, they should reap the rewards.  

Finally, China?  It's exactly these types of protections that the west is desperately trying to get China to enforce.

MGoShtoink

February 9th, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^

+1 for this alone:

"lest some overzealous Columbia grad working for the federal prosecutors in NY who didn't get into Michigan Law decides to take some revenge."

Geaux_Blue

February 9th, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^

being connected to any of the sites that provide torrents/streaming of Big Ten games is not safe for mgoblog, etc.  even casual association isn't worth the risk with heavyhanded efforts like the ones discussed above. 

ixcuincle

February 10th, 2011 at 7:10 AM ^

It was seized a few days ago, this is old news.

By this time, I guess a mirror is up on another domain. Or you could use the alternate ATDHE domain. ;)

The man can take down as many links and domains as he wants, but they'll just pop up on another site. Maybe if companies embraced the internet and this new age today instead of living in the past, people wouldn't have to turn to piracy.