said by Matt :

This is where Tk and I disagree.

I don't think they should be shut down because what they do is not illegal in their country. We have no right to tell another country to take action on something that is illegal in OUR country but not theirs. That would be like shutting down the Hash Houses in Amsterdam because Marijuana is illegal here.

However, it *IS* illegal in our country, so I think the RIAA or MPAA has every right to go after US Citizens who willing use TPB to commit copyright infringement. I don't agree with the methods they use however, as they are nothing more than extortionist organizations. I agree with a 3 strikes type system though. Get 3 DMCA letters, you lose the ability to get an internet connection through that company for a set number of years, 3-5 years sounds good.

said by TKJunkMail :

A small analogy might explain it. A pawn shop sells a lot of legitimate goods. But when they also fence stolen goods knowingly, the police shut them down. The Pirate Bay is like a pawn shop that may have some legit content, but they also knowingly(hell, they brag about it) offer access to content that is copyrighted. They deserve to be shut down. The defense that some of the content is legit is no defense under the law.

said by TKJunkMail :

Actually we do have the right because these countries have signed WTO trade documents where they agreed to enforce the copyright claims of other countries.

And here is the link to the WTO sub group that enforces those agreements:
»www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en

They have a web page where you can read about all the treaty obligations where countries have agreed to do just that:
»www.wipo.int/treaties/en/

said by Crookshanks :

Do you have a citation for that or are you just pulling it out of a dark place where the sun doesn't shine?