Digital Citizens Alliance

The Digital Citizens Alliance is a United States non-profit organization focused on Internet safety issues.[1] It has criticized Google for not systematically removing videos from YouTube that are used to perpetrate fraud or provide instructions for buying drugs.[2][3]

Reports

In 2013, Digital Citizens did an expose on online pharmacies selling drugs to minors.[4][5] This was followed by a report on online drug marketplaces like Silk Road in 2014.[6] DCA have issued several reports focused on how Google profited from videos on its YouTube subsidiary that promoted the illegal sale of prescription drugs, steroids, content theft and counterfeit passports.[7] In 2014 in response to leaked Sony emails, former attorney general Peggy Lautenschlager said the DCA had inappropriately influenced politician Jim Hood. The organization hired lobbyist Mike Moore, who also served Hood as a consultant on a pro-bono basis. The article alleged he used his relationship to serve the agenda of private industry, such as Microsoft and the movie industry. Jim Hood and the Mike Moore claim they are motivated by Google's conduct as oppose to private industry.[8]

Digital Citizens has conducted reports on whether ad-supported websites were infringing copyrights of movies and television shows.[9] In one report, with MediaLink, Digital Citizens estimated that ad-supported content theft was at least a $227 million business.[10]

In another report, Digital Citizens advocated that credit card companies were offering stolen content for a subscription fee.[11] In September 2014, they commissioned a report via the brand protection organization NetNames reporting how various cyberlocker sites 'make millions' in profit.[12] The CEO of cloud storage service Mega said the allegations were 'grossly untrue and highly defamatory'[13] and 4shared said the report was 'defamatory'.[14]

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/silk-road-underground-website-black-market-drug-sales/story?id=23528712
  2. ↑ http://news.yahoo.com/hood-google-pulls-videos-evading-225002154.html
  3. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-youtube-credit-card-info-20140617-story.html
  4. ↑ http://www.wzzm13.com/story/local/2013/06/12/1601860/
  5. ↑ http://cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=24860
  6. ↑ http://www.cnet.com/news/silk-road-drugs-sales-going-strong-following-dread-pirate-roberts-arrest/
  7. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/10/need-drugs-or-a-fake-id-try-youtube/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost
  8. ↑ WINGFIELD, NICK (December 16, 2014). "Google’s Detractors Take Their Fight to the States". Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  9. ↑ http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/blue-chip-brans-still-advertising-on-popular-piracy-sites-1201110641/
  10. ↑ http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/new-report-says-how-much-advertising-going-piracy-sites-155770
  11. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-piracy-study-20140917-story.html
  12. ↑ NetNames. "BEHIND THE CYBERLOCKER DOOR: A Report on How Shadowy Cyberlocker Businesses Use Credit Card Companies to Make illions". http://www.itif.org/''. Digital Citizens Alliance. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Andy. "Mega Demands Apology Over "Defamatory" Cyberlocker Report". http://torrentfreak.com/''. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Ernesto (October 20, 2014). "4shared Demands Retraction Over Misleading Piracy Report". Retrieved 9 November 2014.