Yes, the title was long enough already, but I could add the adjective Estonian in there: it's not every day that I get threatening emails from law firms in Estonia… or, if it is, I really haven't been paying attention to… uh… "fan mail" lately.
Here is the original text of the blog post (that presumably nobody will remember) still visible via "the wayback machine" on archive dot org. Thereafter, you'll see the… law firm's attempt to intimidate me.
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[Sunday, January 2nd, 2022]
Q&A;: What About Pornography? (Will There Be "Quit Porn" Videos on ABLC?)
Hey Eisel,
Thanks for your awesome videos on video games. I was considering buying a Nintendo Switch but will now never buy one after your many videos on video games and Nintendo products. Can you make similar related videos on people having ruining their lives with porn and such? I think that's the last hurdle I have for sobriety really, I don't drink, don't smoke, no video games, no meat or animal products, but there is still porn that is prevalent in my life.
Your videos that show people who really effed themselves by falling into their addictions and then your commentary on those, really drives home the message for these other things.
Also I did want fame and wealth too, but that's not the end goal anymore. You're right that I should make the effort in trying out things just for the sake of doing them, even if I end up as a failure in them and nothing comes about it, the fact that I tried is meaningful enough, more meaningful than the success ever would be. I don't want to end up like those "successful" people who do nothing but waste their lives all day.
Thanks
———[My reply ensues.]———
Hi _________,
I'm really "a moderate" on both of these issues, but I'm perceived as an extremist, because we live in such an immoderate culture.
From my biased perspective, is it possible to play SOME video games? My honest belief (applied to myself and my daughter) is, "yes", but I keep having encounters with particular examples of people who are so susceptible to addictive behavior that it seems the answer may be "no" --i.e., I may be rather too moderate (although I'm perceived as extreme in my critique of video games).
To give an example, I often point to "Pacman C.E." as a positive example of a game that can be played for a maximum of five minutes (this exists as an 8-bit Famicom cartridge, but is primarily played on emulators).
However, I've received emails from people who were SERIOUSLY ADDICTED to games that were even more simplistic than that --games that lasted two or three minutes that they would play, repetitiously, for many hours.
Now, as you know, I'm living in a country and culture where the vast majority of people think it's totally acceptable for adult men to spend 20 hours per week playing video games --so I'm perceived as an extremist in any case.
So, by the same token, at what point is pornography a problem for people?
If we're talking about 5 minutes here and there (say, 35 minutes per week, even if not distributed evenly as 5 minutes per day), then I really don't see the problem.
And it's very difficult for me to imagine anyone being stupid enough to spend hours watching porn (it's just fundamentally boring, IMHO). It's very difficult for me to imagine porn as an addictive behavior.
Human sexuality is innate, curiosity is innate, and being curious about what other people look like naked (etc.) seems to me anodyne enough --so I do not put pornography in the same category as video games (nor in the same category as gambling).
Do people ruin their lives watching pornography?
Do people fail courses in university because they're spending too much time watching pornography?
The equivalent, for video games, is at epidemic levels: a large percentage of high school and university students are either failing in school, or learning nothing in school while passing, precisely because of video games. However, is there a significant percentage of people ruining their lives (in this same way) by spending a similar number of hours watching pornography?
How many people per year get fired from their jobs because they stayed awake all night watching pornography? (The equivalent does indeed happen with video games, stereotypically with MMORPGS.)
So, in short, I'm skeptical that pornography really presents the same kind of cultural problem (as video game playing).
The counter-examples I have seen are either (1) people who were addicted to drugs (e.g., a meth addict who would watch pornography for many hours, but it was clearly meth --not porn-- that was the fundamental problem), and (2) people who were seriously mentally disabled (and/or insane) who would have had many of the same problems without pornography in their lives.
So, honestly, my perception is that the inclusion of pornography in the same category as video games may be "a false equivalency".
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Details of the original claim are included below to help you better understand and respond to the claim against you.
Name of claimant: Ahmet Teke
Rightsholder represented: Rulta OU
Description of claim: To Whom It May Concern, We are writing to you as Rulta OÜ, a copyright protection company resident at Harju maakond, Tallinn, Kesklinna linnaosa, Tartu mnt 67/1-13b, 10115 Estonia, with the registration code 14640476 in Tartu County Court Registration Department, the duly authorized representatives of Jaclyn Glenn ("The Client"), the sole owner and the user of the alias/pseudonym/stage name/username/sobriquet/alternative name "Jaclyn Glenn". It has come to our attention that the below-stated URLs of your website contains copyrighted content originally belongs
to the Client, and therefore are flagrantly violating The Client’s exclusive rights by unlawfully reproducing and disseminating copyrighted material managed by us. The list of the URLs where the infringing content exists: https://a-bas-le-ciel.blogspot.com/2022/01/q-what-about-pornography-will-there-be.html (altogether "Infringing Content"). The original content can be found at https://onlyfans.com/jaclynglenn. The infringing material, which includes illegally-made copies of visual media content that originally belongs to the Client ("Infringing Material"), is being utilized without The Client’s consent or authorization, thereby constituting a clear and wilful infringement of The Client’s intellectual property rights protected under the laws of the European Union. According to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC ("Digital Services Act") Article 2; "This Regulation shall apply to intermediary services offered to recipients of the service that have their place of establishment or are located in the Union, irrespective of where the providers of those intermediary services have their place of establishment." Therefore, The Website is legally required to comply with Digital Services Act as long as it provides service to Europe, irrespective of your location. Furthermore, according to Article 6 of the Digital Services Act: "Hosting 1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service, the service provider shall not be liable for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service, on condition that the provider: (a) does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or illegal content and, as regards claims for damages, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or illegal content is apparent; or (b) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the illegal content." Consequently, you are legally required to remove the Infringing Material when you have become aware of the nature of its illegality. This correspondence serves as a formal demand for the immediate removal of the Infringing Material from The Website. We expect your prompt cooperation in enforcing compliance by the operator of The Website to expeditiously remove all unlawfully reproduced content. Failure to do so will leave us with no recourse but to pursue all available legal remedies to protect The Client’s intellectual property rights. We reserve all rights to seek legal recourse and remedies available to us under the laws of the European Union and the national law should this matter remain unresolved. We have a good faith belief that The Website is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law to use the copyrighted content. I, Ahmet Teke, declare under penalty of perjury that the information provided in this notice is accurate and that I am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. We reserve all rights to seek legal recourse and remedies available to us under the laws of the European Union and the national law should this matter remain unresolved. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. Sincerely, Signature: Ahmet Teke General Manager Rulta OÜ Address: Harju maakond, Tallinn, Kesklinna linnaosa, Tartu mnt 67/1-13b, 10115 Estonia Phone Number: +372 651 5866 Email: dmca@rulta.com
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