As it follows, US users trying to access the TorrentSpy site were greeted only with the following message:
“Torrentspy Acts to Protect Privacy
Sorry, but because you are located in the USA you cannot use the search features of the Torrentspy.com website. Torrentspy’s decision to stop accepting US visitors was NOT compelled by any Court but rather an uncertain legal climate in the US regarding user privacy and an apparent tension between US and European Union privacy laws.”
But, what happened actually? The story goes back to 2006, when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sued the BitTorrent search engine of alleged copyright infringement, as it was used to exchange pirated material via file-sharing networks. Eventually, the Court’s decision was that TorrentSpy would have to track users and deliver such data to the MPAA.
TorrentSpy has decided to appeal the decision. In the mean time, it also had to maintain the users’ trust in its privacy policy:
“TorrentSpy.com does not sell, trade or rent your personal information to other companies. TorrentSpy.com will not collect any personal information about you except when you specifically and knowingly provide such information.”
Handing over users data to the MPAA was definitely a big step in the wrong direction and, therefore, US users were left out for their own good. No US users, no data for the MPAA.