Ongoing, Unsanctioned Infringements of Copyright Laws
Rewriting the Article:
Taking Down Pirated Content from Adult Sites: Challenges Galore
Let's face it, removing pirated videos from adult websites is a Herculean task. Content creators and producers find Canadian legislation lacking in bite. A new law regarding the sharing of intimate images may make legal action somewhat easier.
Charlotte Poitras, our investigative subject, has struggled in the past to have content removed from such sites. When she requested the removal of content featuring her, the site owner refused and even audaciously asked for new exclusive images in exchange for money, she reveals.
For this report, we tasked Charlotte to write to two adult sites to request the removal of photos and videos featuring her. One site complied swiftly, while the other took several weeks to respond.
The platform boasts "celebrities" on its contact page, claiming to remove unauthorized content as soon as possible.
An agent representing popular actresses shares that she's repeatedly tried to communicate with site email addresses, spoken to a police investigator, and sent a cease and desist letter.
It's all in vain. Take down one site, and seven more appear. It's a massive problem, and we feel utterly powerless.
An anonymous agent for artists
A new Quebec law on the non-consensual sharing of intimate images could provide artists with the ammunition required to tackle piracy platforms, believes Pierre Trudel, a jurist, and full professor at the Centre de recherche en droit public at the University of Montreal.
Adopted last November, Bill 73 provides an expedited process to prevent or stop the sharing of nude images. Those who violate orders face maximum fines of $50,000 per day and imprisonment. The initiative also paves the way for civil lawsuits to compensate for damages incurred.
For success, the plaintiff must "reasonably expect that their privacy would be protected, whether in the circumstances of the creation, capture, or recording of the image, or, if applicable, those in which it is shared." Furthermore, consent cannot be withdrawn "in the context of a commercial or artistic contract."
According to Mr. Trudel, these conditions don't lessen the complaints of actresses whose nude bodies are recovered by adult sites. "We tick all the boxes in the law," he says.
We're dealing with intimate images that are diverted from their original purposes. Consent was given for the original work, but not for its manipulation.
Pierre Trudel, jurist and full professor at the Centre de recherche en droit public at the University of Montreal
Whether the recent law applies to the examples presented in this report remains to be seen. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Quebec Bar Association commented. We'll have to wait for the court's interpretation.
Is It a Never-ending Battle?
Regarding copyright, Canada and the United States offer protection to content hosts like YouTube and Pornhub, ensuring "net neutrality." The responsibility for following the law falls on the user who uploads images and videos.
In the United States, intermediaries are required to offer an option to report and remove content in case of copyright infringement. This provision is absent from Canadian law.
In Quebec, hosts can be held responsible if they are aware of an illicit activity and fail to act promptly. However, it's challenging to enforce against sites located in foreign jurisdictions with often compliance-friendly legislations, according to three lawyers consulted by La Presse.
Former actress Charlotte Poitras wishes film production companies, who hold the copyrights, to be more proactive in cataloging stolen scenes and requesting their removal.
When a film winds up on YouTube or a streaming site, rights holders rush to have it taken down. It's not their fault if adult sites steal their images, they are not responsible, but it's the producers who hold the power to act.
Some do. The producers of Normal People, a series aired by Hulu and the BBC, for instance, managed to have a 22-minute montage removed from Pornhub. Clips quickly migrated to other platforms.
The AQPM assures that it acts each time the Union of Artists (UDA) brings a member's complaint to its attention. However, according to President and CEO Hélène Messier, Canadian copyright law lacks bite, with damages "not very dissuasive."
In 2018, the AQPM advocated alongside creators, broadcasters, and producers for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to have the power to block sites "manifestly, obviously, or structurally involved in copyright piracy." "It would be much more useful and dissuasive than simply having content removed, as it would cut off all advertising revenue," explains Messier.
The CRTC ruled that it did not have the competence to impose such a regime.
"Asking for the removal of images is like spitting in the wind. Legal action needs to become punitive enough for people to stop [piracy]," stresses actress Tania Kontoyanni.
Is the American industry complicit?
To demonstrate the zeal of internet users to track nudity, Charlotte Poitras recalls discovering images of her naked body from a short artisanal film on an adult site before the work was even presented to the public. She believes a member of the production team shared the password-protected Vimeo link. The "butt and breasts" scene, as identified by a site, was viewed more than the short film itself. In the United States, the film industry is rumored to directly feed certain XXX platforms. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jim McBride, founder of a popular aggregator of nudity scenes, claimed that more than 75 American studios, including Universal and Fox, sent him material each month for advertising purposes. Some sites' upload pages are even specifically addressed to producers. Our interviewees agree that Quebec is spared from this large-scale practice.
Enrichment Data:- The new Quebec law primarily addresses the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, which is a form of sexual violence, and is not directly applicable to combating piracy of artistic or commercial content on adult websites.- The law provides an expedited process to prevent or stop the sharing of nude images, potentially giving victims legal recourse.- Victims of non-consensual image sharing must reasonably expect their privacy to be protected and cannot withdraw consent in the context of a commercial or artistic contract.- Legal recourse for artists and producers seeking to combat piracy of their content lies in pursuing legal avenues related to copyright infringement, typically involving working with legal professionals to identify specific instances of infringement and acting through appropriate legal channels.
- Hélène Messier, President and CEO of the AQPM, suggests that Canadian copyright law needs to be more robust to effectively combat piracy, as damages currently offered are not deterrent enough.
- Tania Kontoyanni, an actress, expresses her frustration with current legal avenues, stating that asking for the removal of images is like spitting in the wind, and that legal action needs to become punitive enough to stop piracy.
- In the United States, there are rumors of direct relationships between some studios, such as Universal and Fox, and adult sites, contributing to the piracy of artistic or commercial content.
