"share-online.biz": Two years suspended sentence for sharehoster operator
In October 2019, "share-online.biz", the largest German sharehoster, was shut down. Now one of the operators has been convicted, and rights holders celebrate.
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Six years after the shutdown of the file-sharing platform and raids on those responsible, the operator has now been sentenced to two years in prison suspended on probation. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports, citing the decision of the Aachen Regional Court. The convicted person knew about the mass copyright infringements on his portal and actively helped with them – "to enrich himself." The platform was therefore not a neutral online storage service, which is why the operator could be held criminally liable. According to the report, the verdict is legally binding (File no. 86 KLs 6/23 (111 Js 44/15)).
The largest sharehoster in Germany at the time
Until its shutdown in October 2019, "share-online.biz" was the largest file hoster or cyberlocker operated in Germany. It was easy to store large files there and make them available for download by others, which was extensively used for the distribution of copyrighted works. According to FAZ, over 18 million files were ultimately accessible there, with more than 1.3 million registered users having access. In 2017, the person responsible had responded to more than eight million requests to delete content and initially removed them, but they were accessible again shortly thereafter. Between 2008 and 2019, "share-online.biz" is said to have generated a turnover of 50 million euros.
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The court proceedings were supported by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). The anti-piracy association describes the verdict as "groundbreaking" because it makes it clear "that operators of cyberlockers who facilitate digital piracy can and will be held criminally responsible." It emphasizes that the convicted person could not fall back on the fact that the platform reacted to direct notifications from rights holders: "Anyone who operates a business model that promotes or supports copyright-infringing activities" commits a criminal offense. ACE explicitly praises the work of the Central and Contact Point Cybercrime North Rhine-Westphalia (ZAC NRW), whose "outstanding work" was crucial for the success.
(mho)
