The Usenet as we know it will be taken down!
Lately we have been getting some emails related to DMCA-law and takedowns in general. In this blog post we would like to explain what it means for you as a user of UsenetBucket and to the complete Usenet industry.
What are takedown laws and why has it been taken in effect a couple of months ago?
First off, the DMCA law also known as the Digital Milennium Copyright Act. The DMCA law is an American law which has been active since 1998. You might wonder: Why is it only becoming noticable these last few months? Usenet is getting bigger and bigger each day. As Usenet is getting bigger it becomes more populair. With this change it also became more populair with the organisations that issue the takedowns for the big companies. The amount of takedowns we received has grown with 400% over the last 6 months.
Since we are a Dutch company we are not subject to the American law. Sadly, also in Holland, where you can buy drugs in coffee shops on every corner of the street, we have a similar law that we need to obey. It is called the NTD-behavioural code. This law is a bit more extended then the American DMCA-law. It also states that we need to remove any personal information, child pornography, messages that include rasism and cyberstalking.
Why does UsenetBucket comply to these laws?
With participating in the takedown systems that are present today, we do not try to neglect our users or to dismantle your way of using Usenet. It is just a procurement to keep Usenet in its current way, the way you enjoy it.
What will happen if we do not comply to all the takedowns?
A lot of doomscenarios can be tought out. One thing is certain: the companies that do not comply to the takedowns e.g. the DMCA law or the NTD law, will either loose their business very quickly or change the entire platform Usenet as we know it. Since the last thing we want to achieve is to see Usenet disappear in its total, we just have to suck it up and deal with it.
Conclusion
In a way we are trying to preserve Usenet in its current way and let everything slide by, untill something else is getting more interesseting. Hopefully TPB makes an even bigger scene then they already do now or Mister DotCom has new product launch and everything will change back to normal.