Richard O’Dwyer, the young British man who ran the TVShack linksite (which allowed users to post links to legal and illegal places to watch TV online) will not be extradited to the USA after all. He’s settled with the US government, and will pay a small fine, as well as travelling voluntarily to the USA to paper over the proceedings. TorrentFreak paints this as a victory for the activists who fought for O’Dwyer, including the 250,000+ Britons who signed Jimmy Wales’s petition to keep O’Dwyer out of the US justice system.
The MPAA, who are believed to be the prime instigators of the case, were not happy with these campaigns and will probably be disappointed by the deal. A few months ago leaked documents revealed that the movie industry group saw Richard O’Dwyer as a purposeful copyright infringer.
“O’Dwyer was not a mere ‘middleman.’ He profited heavily from this activity. To call him a ‘middleman’ suggests a lack of involvement in the illegal activity, which is simply not the case,” MPAA wrote.
“Being 24, posing for newspaper photo shoots in a cartoon sweatshirt, and having your mother and Jimmy Wales speak for you, does not mean you are incapable for breaking the law,” the added.
TV Shack Admin Richard O’Dwyer Will NOT Be Extradited To U.S.