3 Count: Cyber Ghosted

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1: TikTok Star ‘Dad the Dish’ Who Shared Illegal Sky TV Log-Ins for £50 a Year Hauled to Court

First off today, Emma Butterworth and Ashlie Blakey at the Manchester Evening News report that TikTok star Simon Hannigan has avoided jail time for his role in selling pirate IPTV subscriptions.

Better known as “Dad the Dish” on TikTok, he was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of selling pirate IPTV services through his online presence. He pleaded guilty to selling services but claimed to be a middleman, selling subscriptions on behalf of a larger European company.

On November 7, he received a two-year suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 250 hours of community service. Before that, he faced significant prison time, but because of his limited role in the operation and financial difficulties, the court opted for a lighter sentence.

2: Cooperative Music Copyright Association Files Complaint Against Google

Next up today, Jimin-kyung Ji at The Chosun Daily reports that, in South Korea, the Cooperative Music Copyright Association (CMCA) has filed a complaint against Google with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), alleging that Google is not properly paying for songs streamed via YouTube.

According to the complaint, Google works with the Korea Music Copyright Association, a similar rights management organization, on a blanket licensing method. However, the CMCA claims that Google uses a per-song model for its music. This is despite both organizations being equally recognized and having the same status in the country.

The CMCA argues that this has resulted in both lower payments and delays in payment for their artists. They are asking the KFTC to compel Google to treat the two organizations equally and ensure the same payment structures are applied.

3: CyberGhost DMCAs Our Story About Their Bogus DMCA (Yes, Really)

Finally, today, Mike Masnick at TechDirt reports that the virtual private network (VPN) service CyberGhost sent a false Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to them over an article they wrote about an earlier dubious takedown notice that they had filed.

Last year, CyberGhost filed a DMCA takedown notice with Facebook, alleging that a 2016 TechDirt post highlighting a CyberGhost deal was infringing. TechDirt didn’t contest the notice but wrote an article about the incident.

Now CyberGhost has filed another DMCA notice, this one targeting TechDirt itself and the aforementioned critical article. This is even though the post did not use any copyright-protected material owned by CyberGhost. This led Masnick and others to wonder if CyberGhost should be trusted to operate a VPN service, as such systems require a high level of trust.

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