A student who ran a website called “TVShack”, which contained links to other websites that provided pirate copies of copyrighted material, should be extradited to the US on charges of “authorising copyright infringement”, according to the ruling of a district judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Richard O’Dwyer closed the website in 2010 after he was visited by the police and US officials. However, US authorities alleged that the website contributed towards “criminal activity” in the US despite O’Dwyer never having been to the US, and despite the fact that no action is being taken against him in the UK. They also claimed that the website generated $230,000 in advertising revenue before it was shut down. O’Dwyer should be extradited to face charges of “authorising copyright infringement” as providing the links to the pirated content is a serious offence in the US and would justify extradition under the UK-US extradition agreement.
O’Dywer’s lawyers had argued that the website was merely a search engine for content, and that he should only face charges in the UK. He could face up to ten years in a US jail if found guilty of copyright infringement.