How do VPN companies get away with DMCA? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 weeks ago by haroldfinch@lemmy.ml to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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I've noticed many people promote VPNs for torrenting to evade legal troubles in some places. But I wonder how do VPN companies get away with legal complaints? Especially if their servers are located in Germany or Japan, where piracy is heavily penalized.

p.s. I have never used a VPN for piracy, and I have never received any DMCA emails.

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[-] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 39 points 4 weeks ago

FWIW, at least Nord and Express explicitly put on their terms and conditions that you're not allowed to use their services illegally, Nord mentions a few usages including unblocking content that should not be available in your region.

They also give influencers like YouTubers and Twitch streamers scripts telling them to show how you can unblock content, but apparently the T&C weighs far heavier in court.

[-] haroldfinch@lemmy.ml 17 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Great comment. Here is an excerpt from Nord VPN's TOS

8.2 You agree that you shall not yourself and/or enable others to: •use, assist, encourage, or enable others to use the Services/Websites for any unlawful, illicit, illegal, criminal, or fraudulent activities, including ... digital piracy ... which might negatively affect provision of our Services to other users;

A Snippet from Express VPN"s TOS:

In using our Services, you agree not to: ... Send, post, or transmit over the Services any content that is illegal, hateful, threatening, insulting, deceptive, or defamatory; infringes ExpressVPN or third parties’ intellectual property rights; invades privacy; or incites violence or any unlawful behavior.

[-] CorrodedCranium@leminal.space 3 points 4 weeks ago

I feel like that's a lot of boiler plate stuff. It reminds me of Tom Scott's video on VPN sponsorships not admitting they can be used as tools for piracy