What happens to people caught downloading torrents?

Is downloading torrents illegal?

Downloading torrents is perfectly legal. Torrents are simply broken up files shared between users in peer to peer downloading. The problem begins when users download copyrighted content through torrents and peer to peer sharing. That’s not frowned upon, it’s good old fashioned illegal.

Reaction to online piracy in Ireland

Online piracy has made the headlines in Ireland quite a bit in recent years. Eir, formerly Eircom, initiated a three strike policy against its 700,000 customers in 2010. Despite sending out an undisclosed number of warning letters, we believe no customer has been cut off for illegal downloading of copyrighted materials. Virgin Media state on their website that “they take the threat of online piracy very seriously” and after briefly resisting, in 2015 installed the same three strike rule as Eir. To date, it also looks as if Virgin Media (formerly UPC) have not cut anyone off.

International reaction to online piracy

A recent Reddit thread brought together the stories of various people from around the world and their piracy stories. We’ve picked out our favourites, though some have already been deleted, to answer the most popular questions.

What to say if caught pirating

We do not condone pirating: it is illegal. When caught, fast thinking CoreyC simply pleaded ignorance, blaming an innocent lack of security as causing the issue. Redditors agreed this was simply good, solid advice.

What do internet service providers say in their piracy warnings?

It turns out that proving what their customers are doing is extremely difficult for internet service providers. Despite the fact that large sections of the public find it creepy, in some circumstances, monitoring internet use is illegal. Considering the minefield providers find themselves in, they often keep their warnings nice and vague to avoid saying anything that will land them in hot water.

Is there anything that can be done should you get cut off?

Yes. You can ask nicely apparently.

 Cost of pirating in Germany

Remember, the worst outcome might not be getting sued …

Redditor, LordNeddard, can testify to not all awful outcomes of being an online pirate end with being sued.

In short, you shouldn’t download illegally shared, copyrighted materials. It’s illegal. At the same time, it looks unlikely that much will happen to you, in Ireland at least, for doing so.

You can read through the thread in full on Reddit, though due to the huge amount of deletions, you’ll need the Uneddit tool too.