Where Politics And Video Games Collide

Travis K: "Man you only further substantiate this when you talk about 1 guy in idaho getting the attention of the feds. You show me where even 25% of these served warrants were for the consumers of mod chips. Good luck."


And what bearing does the percentage of defendants who were end-users have on whether everyone here is "scared they might get dragged into the legal battles?" I for one have never modded a console, haven't bought a console in six years, and don't have much interest in buying another. I complain about this because I am a libertarian Anti-Federalist, not because I'm scared I'll get caught for something I don't do.

"This is no different than than making counterfeit drugs, counterfeit currency, trafficking in counterfeit goods, etc. The guys getting served warrants sell the chips; thats distribution. This is crime handled by Federal law. This shouldn’t be old news to anybody."

Yes, I am well aware of the DMCA, and the vast abuse of the Interstate Commerce clause which has brought us to the point that it can even appear legitimate. Cognizance, however, is a far cry from approval. Even if the law weren't so nefarious, I would still think that using ICE to secure our ports and borders is far more important than using them to go after mod chips..

"You just dont get it do you? I already stated above, Feds have to take a look at corporate loss when the company can show its greater than $5,000. Consider that theres a large distinction between traffic accidents at crosswalks and trafficking in counterfeit goods (in which in this case, its providing equipment which breaches the license agreement you accept when you buy the console, which is there to prevent counterfeiting; even so the equipment; mod chips; is being profited on)."

Over $5K and a massive piracy operation in interstate commerce, sure, let the Feds handle it. But DHS/ICE? Maybe if they catch some mod chips being imported (as in, Customs Enforcement), okay. But otherwise send in an FBI agent with some Sheriffs to serve a Federal warrant. I mean, really, is full-blown ICE raid necessary?

And one guy in Idaho with a single mod chip? He'd need a stack of a couple hundred pirated games to make a Federal raid worth the trip and worth bringing Federal charges against him. Even then, the mind boggles what kind of probable cause was used for such a fruitless raid..