A torrent client whose users cannot be blamed for downloading, storing and distributing content
Recently, we announced the project “ACE Stream” , and the entire branch of Torrent Stream products will soon move under this brand. This is not just a change of brand, but also a new vector of development, with new opportunities for the application and operation of P2P technology in various Internet projects. Despite the presence of a commercial vector in the ACE Stream project (solutions / products and services for commercial organizations), the non-commercial direction will also be developed, and all the capabilities of the Torrent Stream will still be available to the user, and besides, they will also significantly expand with new opportunities that will not only provide additional convenience, but also will protect the interests of their users and their peace of mind when using torrents at the program level. With one of these software methods, the introduction of which will protect our users from charges of downloading, storing and distributing content, when they use torrents to play video and audio online, I would like to acquaint everyone.
Perhaps, our goal may seem banal to someone, but at the same time for many Internet users it is very relevant and urgent.
Purpose: To make online playback through torrents, absolutely safe for the user.
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For those who do not know: one of the functions of Torrent Stream products (ACE Stream) allows you to play video and audio content in onlane via torrents, without having to wait for the download of the entire file. (An example of one of the products that turns almost any torrent trackers into online cinema halls: Extension for web browser TS Magic Player
Just want to say that we will not talk about some kind of closed add-on protocol. Full compatibility with any other torrent clients!
Before I talk about the method we have implemented, I would like to touch upon the problem itself, from which we want to isolate our users, and superficially consider some legal aspects regarding the following actions: downloading, storing and distributing. For those who are not quite in the subject, it will not be superfluous.
Actually, these terms and related actions are the basis of the debate around the world, embodying the most "global world problem", namely: "unlicensed distribution of video and audio content on the Internet." In fact, this problem should be a headache only for content producers and their distributors who cannot accept existing realities in any way, while continuing to actively protect their outdated distribution schemes, instead of maximizing the potential of the Internet, creating and using new distribution models. But, in fact, it became a headache for many Internet users who had fallen:
But for us, first of all, it is interesting that it is the users of bittorrent networks that are exposed to threats, accusations and the biggest attacks, unlike users downloading the same content from file storages or playing it online on video hosting sites (VKontakte, etc.) n) that from the technical side is practically no different from downloading from file storage
Probably, someone will want to comment on a significant difference, but do not rush, since this is exactly what I propose to look into in order to understand in more detail what are the differences and where is this Achilles heel that does not allow users to feel relaxed and confident in bittorrent- networks, in contrast to users of different video sharing using the HTTP protocol. Perhaps it’s still not in the protocol itself, and not even in the torrents, but in the working methods of client applications that use this protocol !?
So, what are the users of bittorrent networks so loudly accusing?
The general legal wording of all the charges is “illegal use of copyright objects”, based on the following user actions: “download”, “storage”, “distribution”. It is these actions that I will try to analyze, comparing different methods and methods in order to find exactly what will allow the user to feel confident and calm when watching movies and listening to music taken from Internet sources.
Terms:
“File” is a block of information (in our case, we mean only video and audio content)
“Unlicensed file” is a block of information that falls under the definition of copyrighted objects protected by such law, in accordance with the laws of a country, but which is distributed without a proper license.
"Downloading" - the process of obtaining the file
"Storage" or ownership of the file - placing the file on the physical media owned by the user.
"Distribution " - the file transfer process
Frankly, I don’t know a single country where at the legislative level there is a direct ban on downloading unlicensed files (Loud-speaking headlines of the media, such as ban on downloading movies and music ’, I do not take into account, since they have no legal justification, and, as a rule, this is all described by some abstract concepts). The absence of such a ban, primarily due to the fact that it is almost impossible to create any centralized content identification system, which, for example, when the user tries to download a file, notifies / informs him about the status of the file (licensed or unlicensed). Without such a notification system, any download cannot be classified as “intentionally downloading an unlicensed file,” and besides, “unlicensed” does not mean “illegal”, and accordingly there will be no grounds for accusation. So that there is clarity about what you are talking about, please answer one question: For example, did you find the Avatar film posted by a user from Antigua and Barbuda on some torrent tracker? Is this content legal? Most probably will answer "no" and will be surprised to learn that this is absolutely legal content, albeit unlicensed. (Info: at the end of 2007, the World Trade Organization officially allowed Antigua and Barbuda to violate intellectual property rights owned by US companies). Well, considering that in P2P it’s almost impossible to determine the source (who initially posted content on the network), it’s also almost impossible to determine the status of the legality of the content! And in general, it is not the user's business to think and talk about the status of the content presented on the sites (Sites are not an underground hangout and we are not talking about a closed network, such as i2P. The administration of the site is responsible for the legality of the content on the site, but the legality of the sites themselves is responsible the manager of the domain zone, and the relevant authorities that should exercise such control, so if the site is up and running, then it is legal and all the information on it is legal! After all, it should be so !?), so let those who care Conte status the one who at that earns or loses, and who gets the money for it. But regardless of this, it still makes sense to make comparisons and determine which method of downloading maximally protects the interests of the user, since it is not known what would come up to the lawmakers of your country, considering what money and what lobby is behind such legislative initiatives.
Very important action. As the saying goes: "no body - no business"!
Considering that we are considering methods that protect only law-abiding users, whose purpose is solely to view or listen to video or audio found on the Internet, then there are no different ways to upload content or organize live broadcasts to this topic, so we immediately go to bittorrent, since it is here that data is transferred to other users during downloading and storage, which is not the case when using HTTP.
As previously noted:
Conclusion:
It turns out that the only problem lies in the method of data storage that is used in existing torrent clients, and not in the P2P itself and / or torrents. Moreover, the use of the bittorrent protocol is not only much more efficient than downloading via a direct http-link or unicast online playback, but also much safer!
It is this breach (storage) that makes it possible for various bad organizations to throw fishing rods into the bittorrent swarm, with baits in the form of torrents or magnet links, in order to catch the user in storage and, accordingly, in the acquisition and distribution of unlicensed files. The basis for the charges is the technical information obtained on such a fake torrent client from the user application, namely: the IP address of the user, the presence of segments / pieces of the file protected by copyright, the name of the user torrent client (application identification). If we assume that this application is utorrent, then such an accuser draws the following picture: “Given the operation of the utorrent application, the user, in order to return the segments / pieces of the file, committed deliberate actions related to the acquisition and storage of the file, which is confirmed by the need for this application (utorrent) conscious and deliberate actions associated with the choice of storage space for the file. A file stored by the user can be identified for an object protected by copyright, as the storage method used in this application to participate in siding (transferring segments / pieces of a file - what the user was exposed to) implies storing the file in clear form , with the possibility of full user access to the information contained in it. Given the conscious and deliberate user actions related to the storage / possession of an unlicensed file, as well as the user-accessible ability to control the transfer function of pieces / segments of this file provided in the utorrent application, it can be concluded that the user also consciously and intentionally participated in distributing this file as in storage. And so on and in the same spirit. ” As a result, the charge of acquiring, storing and distributing an unlicensed file appears. Of course, a competent lawyer will split such a charge in two accounts if your device with a stored file does not get into the evidence base or 100% of this file doesn’t go to you on such a fake client, which is practically impossible, unless of course you are not the only one. Although the 100% file transfer should not particularly frighten the user, unless storage is revealed. In addition, for example, if you take the legislation of Russia, then to get under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such 100% of transfers need to be collected for an amount of damage of at least 50 thousand rubles, and of course also to find these files on the user's device, because without this all charges can fall on the root (suddenly the user has a virus on the machine transiting other people's files through the Internet through it, without his knowledge !!!) But, I remind you, our main goal was to make online torrent playback for the user absolutely safe, and to make our user feel confident and calm when watching a movie in or listening to music from the Internet. Well, thinking about a lawyer before launching the film, instead of beer or tea with a cake, is not something we want for our users, which is why we tried to close the identified existing holes.
A good example of a data storage system is: Wuala, FreeNet, etc. A user of such an application allocates a portion of his disk space to the general pool of a particular system. For data storage, a caching system is used, where all data is encrypted and automatically deleted as the cache is filled and / or the users of the system demand files. An important factor is that the user cannot identify the data stored in the cache on his device. With such a storage system, the user cannot be blamed for the storage of content, and accordingly, for its distribution (the user cannot distribute what he has never owned)!
Taking into account all the above, we actually made the implementation of a new method of storing data for our application. Now we have this name: “Distributed data storage and delivery system”
The user provides part of his disk space and part of his Internet channel to the common pool of the ACE Stream system.
Cache
Receive and transfer data
Generally: According to the specification of our client software, the user cannot access the information contained in the cache data and cannot control the seeding / data transfer process, except for the general speed limit of the Internet channel that he allocates to ACE Stream. In addition, the user can not through our software to transfer content that he owns (to the content of which he has access)
In conclusion: Such a system allows the ACE Stream client application to fully share data with any other torrent clients, but it does not give grounds to charge the user with the acquisition, storage and distribution of content.
I also want to note that the user will still be able to save the file being played in the clear and in a convenient place. To save the file, the user can use the “Save” button, which will be displayed on the player’s control panel through which playback will be performed. The user can use this function at his own peril and risk, or of course if there is absolute certainty that the content is licensed and / or distributed legitimately and there is a desire to keep it in his collection.
PS For those who are not convinced by all the arguments and rationales, or for those who are afraid of P2P (bittorrent), as well as for those whose devices do not allow using our software, we will prepare a cloud service that will allow you to start playing torrents online, without need to install a P2P client on your device
PPS I apologize in advance to Geeks, whom I tired of long chewing, but I hope that this helped to convey to many the essence and meaning of the method we introduced. Well, I hope that someone in my chewing found for myself at least something useful, and maybe I learned something new for myself.
Perhaps, our goal may seem banal to someone, but at the same time for many Internet users it is very relevant and urgent.
Purpose: To make online playback through torrents, absolutely safe for the user.
')
For those who do not know: one of the functions of Torrent Stream products (ACE Stream) allows you to play video and audio content in onlane via torrents, without having to wait for the download of the entire file. (An example of one of the products that turns almost any torrent trackers into online cinema halls: Extension for web browser TS Magic Player
Just want to say that we will not talk about some kind of closed add-on protocol. Full compatibility with any other torrent clients!
About problem and solution
Before I talk about the method we have implemented, I would like to touch upon the problem itself, from which we want to isolate our users, and superficially consider some legal aspects regarding the following actions: downloading, storing and distributing. For those who are not quite in the subject, it will not be superfluous.
Actually, these terms and related actions are the basis of the debate around the world, embodying the most "global world problem", namely: "unlicensed distribution of video and audio content on the Internet." In fact, this problem should be a headache only for content producers and their distributors who cannot accept existing realities in any way, while continuing to actively protect their outdated distribution schemes, instead of maximizing the potential of the Internet, creating and using new distribution models. But, in fact, it became a headache for many Internet users who had fallen:
- Information and psychological intimidation through purchased or incompetent media (which absolutely do not understand and do not want to understand the root of the problem, and even more so do not try to conduct some kind of legal examination of the issue, misleading their readers.)
- Direct legal intimidation and extortion of money from collectors and law firms (The problem faced by users of some countries).
- Mass struggle against the adoption of marasmic laws (example: SOP, PIPA, ASTA, etc.)
But for us, first of all, it is interesting that it is the users of bittorrent networks that are exposed to threats, accusations and the biggest attacks, unlike users downloading the same content from file storages or playing it online on video hosting sites (VKontakte, etc.) n) that from the technical side is practically no different from downloading from file storage
Probably, someone will want to comment on a significant difference, but do not rush, since this is exactly what I propose to look into in order to understand in more detail what are the differences and where is this Achilles heel that does not allow users to feel relaxed and confident in bittorrent- networks, in contrast to users of different video sharing using the HTTP protocol. Perhaps it’s still not in the protocol itself, and not even in the torrents, but in the working methods of client applications that use this protocol !?
So, what are the users of bittorrent networks so loudly accusing?
The general legal wording of all the charges is “illegal use of copyright objects”, based on the following user actions: “download”, “storage”, “distribution”. It is these actions that I will try to analyze, comparing different methods and methods in order to find exactly what will allow the user to feel confident and calm when watching movies and listening to music taken from Internet sources.
Terms:
“File” is a block of information (in our case, we mean only video and audio content)
“Unlicensed file” is a block of information that falls under the definition of copyrighted objects protected by such law, in accordance with the laws of a country, but which is distributed without a proper license.
"Downloading" - the process of obtaining the file
"Storage" or ownership of the file - placing the file on the physical media owned by the user.
"Distribution " - the file transfer process
About downloading
Frankly, I don’t know a single country where at the legislative level there is a direct ban on downloading unlicensed files (Loud-speaking headlines of the media, such as ban on downloading movies and music ’, I do not take into account, since they have no legal justification, and, as a rule, this is all described by some abstract concepts). The absence of such a ban, primarily due to the fact that it is almost impossible to create any centralized content identification system, which, for example, when the user tries to download a file, notifies / informs him about the status of the file (licensed or unlicensed). Without such a notification system, any download cannot be classified as “intentionally downloading an unlicensed file,” and besides, “unlicensed” does not mean “illegal”, and accordingly there will be no grounds for accusation. So that there is clarity about what you are talking about, please answer one question: For example, did you find the Avatar film posted by a user from Antigua and Barbuda on some torrent tracker? Is this content legal? Most probably will answer "no" and will be surprised to learn that this is absolutely legal content, albeit unlicensed. (Info: at the end of 2007, the World Trade Organization officially allowed Antigua and Barbuda to violate intellectual property rights owned by US companies). Well, considering that in P2P it’s almost impossible to determine the source (who initially posted content on the network), it’s also almost impossible to determine the status of the legality of the content! And in general, it is not the user's business to think and talk about the status of the content presented on the sites (Sites are not an underground hangout and we are not talking about a closed network, such as i2P. The administration of the site is responsible for the legality of the content on the site, but the legality of the sites themselves is responsible the manager of the domain zone, and the relevant authorities that should exercise such control, so if the site is up and running, then it is legal and all the information on it is legal! After all, it should be so !?), so let those who care Conte status the one who at that earns or loses, and who gets the money for it. But regardless of this, it still makes sense to make comparisons and determine which method of downloading maximally protects the interests of the user, since it is not known what would come up to the lawmakers of your country, considering what money and what lobby is behind such legislative initiatives.
Compare ways:
- Downloading via a direct http link (for example: from a file sharing service, such as Rapidshare, ex.ua, etc.)
An open http request to transfer a file is executed, which in its parameters may be subject to copyright. The file is transmitted in open form, which allows a third party (for example: the provider) to identify the file being taught by the user on his side.
Conclusion: This method does not protect the user from charges, if there is a direct ban on downloading an unlicensed file.
- Online playback on Unicast / HTTP (for example YouTube or video / music on Vkontakte site).
Conclusion: Complete analogy to download via a direct http link.
- BitTorrent download
To download the file, the user uses a torrent file or a magnet link, or other transport files and protocols that are not subject to copyright. In principle, torrent files can be made / classified by derivative files that are protected by copyright, so url schemes have begun to be popular, where there is no need to store and transfer torrent files.
The user himself receives the file directly through his specialized client application (torrent client), which actually collects this file from the pieces / segments received from various sources from the network. And the complete file may not be at all on any of the sources. Thus, the user receives data in the form of abstract blocks (16 kb each), which cannot be considered copyrighted objects! In addition, without the presence of a hash code, it is almost impossible to identify such a piece / segment and its belonging to a file, although in this case it is not so important, just a pleasant trifle.
Conclusion: This method protects the user as much as possible if there is a direct ban on downloading an unlicensed file.
About Storage
Very important action. As the saying goes: "no body - no business"!
Compare ways:
- Storage, after downloading direct http-link
Naturally, after downloading the user saves the file on your device. The important point is the method of its further storage (in open form, in an encrypted or on a USB flash drive, recorded and buried in the ground, well, or after viewing, simply deleted the file), but this is not directly related to the essence of the issue
Conclusion: The security of the user depends only on himself and the method of storing files used by him.
- Storage, when playing online (Unicast / http)
Many users think that when watching a video online, on the same YouTube, they have nothing stored. Taking into account our theme, I want to disappoint such users, since even when playing online, files are saved in the so-called “cache” (in a hidden daddy, on your device / disk). The good thing is that this daddy stores files temporarily and deletes them as needed.
Conclusion: The user is absolutely not protected from file storage charges, since in fact this is storage! The negative point is that the user may absolutely not know that he has an unlicensed / illegal file stored and is worst of all if he finds out this unpleasant news only after the inspecting of his device by criminologists. But, there is one and a huge plus, since this file is in a folder with a certain technical purpose, although this plus will be only for users of countries where there is a legal definition / interpretation of the caching system (“System Caching”), which will mark the charge of intentional storage . Well, for users of most countries of the former USSR, this will most likely be interpreted as “temporary storage, which in the context is no different from ordinary storage.
Note: Caching is good, but not enough for complete peace of mind.
- Storage, after downloading via BitTorrent protocol
It is the same as after downloading via a direct http link. The only difference is that the user is limited in the methods of protecting the received content, because if after downloading everything starts to encrypt or hide the file, changing its original storage path, then the whole P2P will be covered with a copper basin. But of course there are protection methods that are harmless to P2P, for example, initially specifying the save path to a protected partition on the disk (there are enough programs that create such partitions)
Conclusion: Similarly, as after downloading for a direct link, only fewer ways to apply additional measures of protection.
About distribution
Considering that we are considering methods that protect only law-abiding users, whose purpose is solely to view or listen to video or audio found on the Internet, then there are no different ways to upload content or organize live broadcasts to this topic, so we immediately go to bittorrent, since it is here that data is transferred to other users during downloading and storage, which is not the case when using HTTP.
As previously noted:
- Users exchange data in the form of abstract blocks that can not be considered copyrighted objects!
- A user can participate in peering without having a coherent file at all that can be considered copyrighted!
Conclusion: Based only on the fact of seeding (sending pieces / segments), the user of the torrent client cannot be accused of distributing content / unlicensed files!
Conclusion:
It turns out that the only problem lies in the method of data storage that is used in existing torrent clients, and not in the P2P itself and / or torrents. Moreover, the use of the bittorrent protocol is not only much more efficient than downloading via a direct http-link or unicast online playback, but also much safer!
It is this breach (storage) that makes it possible for various bad organizations to throw fishing rods into the bittorrent swarm, with baits in the form of torrents or magnet links, in order to catch the user in storage and, accordingly, in the acquisition and distribution of unlicensed files. The basis for the charges is the technical information obtained on such a fake torrent client from the user application, namely: the IP address of the user, the presence of segments / pieces of the file protected by copyright, the name of the user torrent client (application identification). If we assume that this application is utorrent, then such an accuser draws the following picture: “Given the operation of the utorrent application, the user, in order to return the segments / pieces of the file, committed deliberate actions related to the acquisition and storage of the file, which is confirmed by the need for this application (utorrent) conscious and deliberate actions associated with the choice of storage space for the file. A file stored by the user can be identified for an object protected by copyright, as the storage method used in this application to participate in siding (transferring segments / pieces of a file - what the user was exposed to) implies storing the file in clear form , with the possibility of full user access to the information contained in it. Given the conscious and deliberate user actions related to the storage / possession of an unlicensed file, as well as the user-accessible ability to control the transfer function of pieces / segments of this file provided in the utorrent application, it can be concluded that the user also consciously and intentionally participated in distributing this file as in storage. And so on and in the same spirit. ” As a result, the charge of acquiring, storing and distributing an unlicensed file appears. Of course, a competent lawyer will split such a charge in two accounts if your device with a stored file does not get into the evidence base or 100% of this file doesn’t go to you on such a fake client, which is practically impossible, unless of course you are not the only one. Although the 100% file transfer should not particularly frighten the user, unless storage is revealed. In addition, for example, if you take the legislation of Russia, then to get under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such 100% of transfers need to be collected for an amount of damage of at least 50 thousand rubles, and of course also to find these files on the user's device, because without this all charges can fall on the root (suddenly the user has a virus on the machine transiting other people's files through the Internet through it, without his knowledge !!!) But, I remind you, our main goal was to make online torrent playback for the user absolutely safe, and to make our user feel confident and calm when watching a movie in or listening to music from the Internet. Well, thinking about a lawyer before launching the film, instead of beer or tea with a cake, is not something we want for our users, which is why we tried to close the identified existing holes.
Problem solving and implementation
A good example of a data storage system is: Wuala, FreeNet, etc. A user of such an application allocates a portion of his disk space to the general pool of a particular system. For data storage, a caching system is used, where all data is encrypted and automatically deleted as the cache is filled and / or the users of the system demand files. An important factor is that the user cannot identify the data stored in the cache on his device. With such a storage system, the user cannot be blamed for the storage of content, and accordingly, for its distribution (the user cannot distribute what he has never owned)!
Taking into account all the above, we actually made the implementation of a new method of storing data for our application. Now we have this name: “Distributed data storage and delivery system”
The user provides part of his disk space and part of his Internet channel to the common pool of the ACE Stream system.
About implementation
Cache
- The user selects the drive on which the cache folder will be created. At any time, the user can reassign / change the drive for the cache folder.
- The cache folder does not have a fixed size and does not reserve disk space. The user can independently set the maximum cache size or use automatic mode (in automatic mode, the program will use no more than 70% of free disk space for the cache)
- All data in the cache is encrypted and not identified. Neither the user himself, and no one else can play the files in the cache.
- Data in the cache is deleted automatically (without user intervention) as it is filled. Considered: date and demand for data (based on the number of requests for data)
- The user can independently perform a full cleaning of the entire cache (delete all data manually or through the option "clear cache folder")
Receive and transfer data
- The user can independently limit the bandwidth of his Internet channel, dedicated to ACE Stream, specifying the maximum download / upload speed, or enable automatic mode.
- Seating system works autonomously and only with cache data, without user intervention.
- When downloading data through a torrent file, segments / chunks received by the client application are automatically encrypted and saved in the cache folder
- When seeding / data transmission, all segments / pieces are automatically decrypted and transmitted in their original form (as they were received by the client)
Generally: According to the specification of our client software, the user cannot access the information contained in the cache data and cannot control the seeding / data transfer process, except for the general speed limit of the Internet channel that he allocates to ACE Stream. In addition, the user can not through our software to transfer content that he owns (to the content of which he has access)
In conclusion: Such a system allows the ACE Stream client application to fully share data with any other torrent clients, but it does not give grounds to charge the user with the acquisition, storage and distribution of content.
I also want to note that the user will still be able to save the file being played in the clear and in a convenient place. To save the file, the user can use the “Save” button, which will be displayed on the player’s control panel through which playback will be performed. The user can use this function at his own peril and risk, or of course if there is absolute certainty that the content is licensed and / or distributed legitimately and there is a desire to keep it in his collection.
PS For those who are not convinced by all the arguments and rationales, or for those who are afraid of P2P (bittorrent), as well as for those whose devices do not allow using our software, we will prepare a cloud service that will allow you to start playing torrents online, without need to install a P2P client on your device
PPS I apologize in advance to Geeks, whom I tired of long chewing, but I hope that this helped to convey to many the essence and meaning of the method we introduced. Well, I hope that someone in my chewing found for myself at least something useful, and maybe I learned something new for myself.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/151522/
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