According to Australian law, it's illegal to download movies, music, ebooks, and other copyrighted content.
The short answer is yes, torrenting is legal in Australia. However, there are some important caveats to keep in mind. Firstly, while downloading copyrighted material for personal use is not illegal, distributing that material is. So if you're caught sharing files you've torrented, you could be liable for infringement.
Piracy is illegal
Piracy refers to the accessing of copyright materials without the authorisation of the copyright owner. It is therefore illegal and infringes copyright law. In Australia, there is no registration process for copyrighted material, and it is automatically protected under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
As of 2018, more than 340 websites have been blocked by all major ISP's and the list of sites continues to grow. On top of blocking websites, the Australian Government has turned to strict financial punishment for users downloading pirated content. Penalties have been said to sit between $80 to $2,000 per offence.
Getting caught seeding or downloading copyright files in Australia could result in prosecution for online piracy. That's a criminal offense with a maximum sentence of five years. However, monetary fines are more commonly issued than jail time.
Illegal streaming site 123movies is banned in Australia.
Torrenting without a VPN can result in legal consequences, as torrenting is often associated with copyright infringement. With a VPN, you can bypass any geo-restrictions and connect to servers in different countries, giving you access to a broader range of content while keeping your online activities private.
But sites offering access to movies and shows are legal, as long as they hold a license and the proper permissions to do so. While you might be able to find access to new releases online, the reality is, most of them require a fee for watching, otherwise it's considered piracy.
Illegal content is content which breaks Australian laws. It includes material such as: child pornography or child abuse; content that shows extreme sexual violence or materials that are overly violent; material that demonstrates, promotes or incites crimes or violent acts; and.
Torrenting is legal in Australia, however, torrenting copyrighted material is not. Due to the nature of torrenting it is very difficult to prosecute somebody for torrenting copyrighted material. This is due to the Australian laws being antiquated.
Torrenting is only illegal when used to download copyrighted material that you otherwise don't own the rights to. There are plenty of legal uses for BitTorrent, including distributing large files like video game patches or downloading content that you've already purchased but don't have physical access to.
Is 123Movies Legal? Watching copyrighted content on 123Movies is illegal in most cases. Each country has its own stance on pirating copyrighted content, but most try to protect intellectual property.
A civil lawsuit could hold you responsible for thousands of dollars in damages. Criminal charges may leave you with a felony record, accompanied by up to five years of jail time and fines up to $250,000. You may find this surprising.
ISPs and copyright trolls are constantly monitoring P2P networks like Bittorrent and uTorrent to identify who is downloading and sharing copyrighted files. If you live in the US, UK, Australia, or Europe and you torrent these files without using a private and secure VPN, it's quite possible you will get caught.
According to the latest developments, Australian ISPs, including Telstra, Optus, TPG, M2, Dodo, and iiNet, are bound to comply with the Court Order. They have 15 days to ensure that the ban on torrent websites is being practiced.
Examples of criminal penalties that a person may face for illegally downloading a film is imprisonment of up to 5 years, and statutory damages of $150 to $150,000 for each pirated file.
However, if police apply for and obtain a covert search warrant or obtain a (recently created) digital evidence access order you can be searched, have your data accessed or have spyware planted on your computer, all without your knowledge.
Can the police browse through your phone? Under section 30 of the LEPRA a police officer in conducting a search can examine anything in the possession of a person, including a phone.
Yes, they can. The WiFi router's admin panel is an open book. You can see what your friends and colleagues have been browsing on any public or home internet connection and it doesn't matter if they are in the same room as you are.
Put simply: streaming content for free is not a crime, but violating copyright law is. We do not recommend risking your safety by using illegal movie streaming websites. That's why we've listed out the risky websites that you should avoid, so you can steer clear of any trouble.
People under 18 may not legally purchase, rent, exhibit or view R 18+ classified content. A person may be asked for proof of age before purchasing, hiring or viewing an R 18+ film or computer game at a retail store or cinema. Some material classified R 18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community.
Generally, it's not illegal to download torrents in Australia. The technology is perfectly fine from a legal standpoint. So it's not the distribution via torrent file-sharing that makes the act illegal or unsafe but the material it contains. In other words, if you stick to legal torrent sources, you'll be fine.
Torrenting without a VPN means your internet service provider (ISP) can see your online activity including the sites you visit and the content you view. In certain countries, including the US, ISPs are allowed to share this information with third parties including intellectual property owners.
The simple answer is yes, you can get caught torrenting even when using a VPN; however, it's very unlikely since VPNs hide IP addresses and web traffic. One way you can get caught though is if the VPN you are using doesn't have a kill switch.