{
  "id": 7639285,
  "title": "“Filmmaker” suing PassThePopcorn may be banned user out for revenge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/filmmaker-suing-passthepopcorn-may-be-banned-user-out-for-revenge",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-15T20:19:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica Policy",
    "slug": "ars-technica-policy",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/filmmaker-suing-passthepopcorn-may-be-banned-user-out-for-revenge/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Torrent trackers suspect a banned user could have impersonated a filmmaker in a lawsuit against six private sites for copyright infringement. Last September, torrent tracker enthusiast TorrentFreak reported that Matthew Schneider, a purported independent filmmaker, sued PassThePopcorn, BroadcasTheNet, and HDBits among others. The filmmaker alleged that these platforms infringed on copyrights of movies he claimed to have made. For months, Schneider pursued a legal battle with Cloudflare to expose the operators of the alleged infringing sites using a copyright claim. However, the actual filmmaker behind the films cited in the case declared that he was not involved with the plaintiff's lawsuit. In a sworn statement, the legitimate filmmaker confirmed he had no affiliation with Schneider and had never appeared in the case.",
  "summary": "Allegedly fake filmmaker targeted trackers like PassThePopcorn, BroadcasTheNet, and HDBits.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica",
        "title": "“Filmmaker” suing PassThePopcorn may be banned user out for revenge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/filmmaker-suing-passthepopcorn-may-be-banned-user-out-for-revenge-7655455",
        "published": "2026-09-15T20:19:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}