Is watching free movies online illegal?

[Assassin]

 

 

cristgaming.com/pirate.swf

 

[gastew15]

I don't know if that's a good example, cause my friend can buy a movie and share it with me and I wouldn't be paying for it. Now he did pay for it and I think the problem with pirating is that people aren't just sharing the movie, they are creating copies and distributing them and with streaming your not just getting a copy, you are simply viewing on the platform.

Well really if you follow the rules with digital distribution it is illegal to do that. I'm not saying it should be that way, but even if it's not ATM I'm sure it will be, or hell, it's completely possible the ISP's already have enough cash from some people to stop people that they'll do something unless you have a lawyer.

[gastew15]

 

You should get rid of that, since it autoplays..

[TechTheWorld]

 

You sir win two awards. The first is the "MostChangedAvatar" and "MostAnnoyingPostEver" award.

[Assassin]

You should get rid of that, since it autoplays..

fixed

[TopWargamer]

I'm pretty sure it's only illegal if you download or upload it. 

[Assassin]

You sir win two awards. The first is the "MostChangedAvatar" and "MostAnnoyingPostEver" award.

Oh the irony.

[T.Vengeance]

Too bad I don't watch Stargate.

Oh np. It was a lame joke anyways, but I still found it funny nonetheless.

 

[Luke]

Aren't you technically still downloading it? Not in the same sense as torrenting but you are loading it to your computer temporarily

 

I guess? We can debate all day whether or not we THINK it's bad or illegal but i'm looking for someone who actually knows. This entire thread is a mixed bag of opinions so far.

[Vitalius]

I'm pretty sure it's only illegal if you download or upload it. 

I believe it's only illegal if you upload it. Downloading it with torrents means seeding it while you do that, which means uploading it, which is illegal.

[Luke]

There have been many debates about the legality of watching movies on these "free movie portals".

But to my knowledge it's legal to watch, but illegal to upload and distribute copyrighted material.

I've done it several times and there are so many who do, never heard anything about someone being sued for watching movies on these platforms.

 

I know for a fact that here in Germany, it's debated but not illegal to this day.

 

Thanks. That's always been my general idea on how things work but i wish i knew for sure.

[IdeaStormer]

Its as illegal as having one friend pay for a movie ticket and then open up the emergency door to let you in at a movie theater.

[Dayone]

Yes it's illegal. No, no one really cares. You're not going to be arrested unless you really pissed off a cop somehow. Everyone is more concerned about those distributing it than those watching it. 

[lions240]

Normally when streaming the bitrate of the content isn't as high as a download. You are still basically downloading the movie into a temporary cache. Even when you are using legal streaming like YouTube you can right click and view the size of the flash cache. But non the less it's illegal, as a person that is in Networking and Cybersecurity its unfathomable how much ISP's are tracking your every move. A VPN can help but your ISP sees the all of your is coming and going to a single server, therefore the traffic pattern is categorized as a VPN/Proxy.

[Blade of Grass]

It's only illegal if you get caught.

That's not the way that Law works.

It's illegal even if you don't get caught.

If you kill someone, and get away with it, you have still committed a crime. It doesn't suddently become legal because no one has handcuffed you, and read you your rights.