[SpookyZalost]

So I've always been a bit paranoid about internet privacy, after all while I don't do anything bad other than research and tinker, I don't want some corporation to gather my search habits and sell them to marketers so they can spam my mailbox with stuff I may not want.

However this is not the only form of cyber anti-privacy.

I recently came across a company that has been working for the various corps in the background since 1999 called Mark Monitor.
Mark Monitor claims to be hunting internet pirates but they've also sent tons of false cease and desist letters and are a big part of the whole elimination of net neutrality thing.

Even I've gotten a letter or two about P2P usage... I use torrents to Download patches and ISO's of linux distro's since it allows parallel file transmission to get them mroe quickly, nothing uncouth.

so I started looking into the people claiming I'm a scary internet pirate for downloading a freely available Operating system from a torrent on said OS's website.

and well I'm a bit shaken up about this company I've never heard of before.
while google isn't tied in with them they do own several large Internet domains hosting thousands of websites and use that to monitor what you search for in an effort to find targets to send warnings and threats to anyone doing anything that they or their partners deem disagreeable.

They also apparently monitor any and all P2P connections they can get their grubby hands on so they can backtrace them and get the ISP's to send threats.

it's a bit odd honestly, how can a company get away with what is essentially wiretapping (illegal in the US), so they can threaten honest to goodness people in their efforts to "stop internet pirates" by throwing out a massive net?

it's just weird.

[Thomas]

https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-markmo...ping.t561/

[SpookyZalost]

yeah I know, I read it too, look at the date, that's 7 years old

in the time since there's been a lot of changes in the internet privacy landscape

[Guardian]

I don't trust any of them...

[SpookyZalost]

it's a lot harder to face a shadowy organization isn't it?

here's what I know about mark monitor at least.

First, they're the company that's been acting as an intermediary between the various media groups and the major ISP's.

Second, they use this position to track end users and develop tracking tools for both sides.

Third, they also use their contacts with companies like Level 3 to track internationally and through both Torrent and TOR based services along with normal means.

they are quite literally a privately run and funded corporate information broker and monitoring service specializing in tracking what you do in cyberspace.

Remember, in the US Wiretapping is illegal without any sort of warrant or need... but apparently agencies are looking the other way because they're being helpful in tracking citizens for various alphabet organizations.

all under the guise of fighting internet pirates, when in reality the tools they are producing are being used to track what you watch, what you buy, what you read, who you talk to.

it's a conspiracy but it's not a theory because there's public-ally available evidence to back it up.

think about it.

This is exactly the sorta corporate boogieman I've read about in various cyberpunk novels, and it's giving me chills to see how close we are.

Net Neutrality was defeated by this organization uniting ISP's and Corporations together behind the scenes.

They Currently have an annual revenue of 45$M and haven't needed funding or assistance since 2002 when they started making major strides and deals with various marketing, DRM, Network, INFOSEC and information dissemination companies.

they literally have their hands in all the major people's pockets.

Edit:

the more I dig up on these guys the worse it becomes.

they were a major advocate with the Department of Commerce in pushing for ACTA in 2011, as well as the later bills including the one eliminating Net Neutrality.

They literally use Fear Mongering to influence ignorant masses to make decisions that are inherently anti-consumer and give up our rights to privacy.

ugh... so slimy.