Law Student Detained for Running File-Sharing Blog

Last week, the police detained a 19-year-old law student after the anti-piracy group RettighedsAlliancen informed them that he was running a blog in which he allegedly educated users on how to break copyright laws.

Furthermore, according to TorrentFreak, they also suspected him of being the mastermind behind a massive file-sharing service.

During a lecture break, police officers confronted Halfdan Timm, a student at the University of Aarhus, and asked him to follow them to his home where they were about to do a thorough search.

“I was given two options. Either I could go quietly with the two policemen, or I could be arrested and ‘do it the hard way’,” he said.

Once at his home, they requested him to point out any materials that were illegally downloaded. He showed them some songs on his computer and a collection of 50 DVDs that contained downloaded movies.

Since that didn't seem too much, the officers began a careful examination of the location.

“Sofa pillows, broom closet, refrigerator, my dirty underwear, the rest of my wardrobe, my entire bedroom, under my bed, toilet and even my roommate’s room – even though he has nothing to do with the case,” Halfdan said.

They then told him he is suspected of being behind the BitTorrent tracker NextGen, a site founded at the beginning of 2010, currently having some 40,000 account holders.

The desktop computer from his room was taken in for forensic investigation, but since the police didn't find any other evidence that would appoint him as the mastermind behind a massive file-sharing service, there was nothing they could do.

Even though RettighedsAlliancen chief Maria Fredenslund said that his name had come up during an inquiry that targeted NextGen, Halfdan believes that the true reasons for the visit from the authorities is that the anti-piracy group is actually upset with him for running a site called GratisFilm.info where he posts on topics such as internet anonymity, the use of seedboxes and some BitTorrent site reviews.

“...we can see that he teaches others to break the law and conceal themselves on the net. He is one of those who deliberately break the law. We believe that this was something that was so serious that it should be handled by the police,” said Maria Fredenslund.