MinkiuMar 8
Tiago Peixoto

In 2013 Aaron Swartz committed suicide for facing 35 years in prison for mass downloading scientific articles.

13 years later, Meta is almost getting away with an infraction orders of magnitude larger.

The law didn't change.

https://torrentfreak.com/uploading-pirated-books-via-bittorrent-qualifies-as-fair-use-meta/

Uploading Pirated Books via BitTorrent Qualifies as Fair Use, Meta Argues * TorrentFreak

In an ongoing lawsuit, Meta now argues that uploading pirated books to strangers via BitTorrent qualifies as fair use.

Mar 8 at 8:03amWeb
Show threadHeliographMar 8
@tiago thanks for talking about this 🙏
Show threadcroutonMar 8

@tiago

This kind of perverse scaling is playing out in multiple domains in real time.

"Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god."

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Rostand

Jean Rostand - Wikiquote

Show threadWe don't need AI. AI needs us.6d ago
@crouton
Or in another way, if you have to steal, steal big. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/04/04/what-we-know-about-a-mysterious-30-million-weekend-heist-in-los-angeles/
Usually, only petty thefts go to prison.
@tiago
What We Know About A Mysterious $30 Million Weekend Heist In Los Angeles

A historic heist in Los Angeles has left law enforcement officials baffled.

Forbes
Show threadslotosMar 8
@tiago The reality of legal system didn’t change either.
Show threadJamesMar 8

@tiago seems like some are too big to be held accountable.

Minor point, many people prefer the phrasing "took his own life" or "died by suicide". Using the word commit implies a crime and suicide is not or should not be a crime.

Show threadLyle Solla-YatesMar 8
@tiago I have been thinking a lot about Aaron in recent years. He was not rich and powerful and he was trying to help other people.
Show threadeestileib (she/hers)Mar 8

@tiago

Well when you are accepted before the king bearing a gift made of gold, you become a peer of the realm, which grants certain perquisites, such as being tried in a separate legal system.

This is all standard feudal shit.

Show threadDźwiedziuMar 8

@tiago
*was socially murdered

@antygon

Show threadTravis F WMar 8
@tiago OMG. The irony whiplash is killing me.
Show threadMelvin GundlachMar 8
@tiago If copyright infringement is OK when „US leadership is at stakes“, then it’s time for the EU to stop enforcing US copyright.
Show threadWe don't need AI. AI needs us.6d ago
@melgu
Exactly! And stop with the anti competitive "anti circumvention" laws.
@tiago
Show threadWoozle HypertwinMar 8
@tiago Classic "it's okay when we do it", aka "conservatism" in a nutshell: laws exist solely to protect the powerful from everyone else.
Show threadacffh morstMar 8
@tiago
Corporations are not people because they can't be killed, as such
Show threadStefan ReinalterMar 8
@tiago Reading this is so effing absurd.
"We had to upload, because that's how the tech works."
Show threadHippo 🍉Mar 9

@molecularmusing yeah,

> “Meta used BitTorrent because it was a more efficient and reliable means of obtaining the datasets, and in the case of Anna’s Archive, those datasets were only available in bulk through torrent downloads.”

I wonder if photocopying someone else's copy of a book is also okay when that's the most efficient way to get access to them, given that that's how the technology works

@tiago

Show threadsnowyfoxMar 9
.
Show threadHerman 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇾🇪🍋Mar 9
@tiago It is all about the amount of money you can pay your lawyers.
Show threadschrotthaufenMar 9
@tiago @buherator Makes me sad, and unbelievably angry every time I think about this.
Show threadBot_AnixMar 9
@tiago sie messen mit zweierlei Maß.
Show threadBebef 🦦🇪🇺🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🚙🐼🥦🚩🏴Mar 9
@tiago Yeah, but Meta is not some random dude.
Show threadmatthew - retroedge.tech6d ago
The charges should have been dropped against Aaron. I'm not wanting The System to go after anyone for these types of "crimes".
Show threadAmbassador of the Heat Sink2d ago

@tiago

I don't think that downloading scientific literature should be a crime.

That is the double standard that is appalling...

Aaron Swartz really was a hero and a martyr.