Hi everyone,

I’m starting my self hosting journey and have run into a snag. I just took a job where I need to get govt security clearance and take polygraphs etc, so I cannot engage in piracy.

What that means in practice is actually abiding the ToS for all my media, so I cannot rip DVDs, I cannot capture streams (I believe including YouTube channels because they’re copyrighted and YT ToS but please correct me if I’m wrong because that would be amazing).

What I’ve done so far:

There is legal precedent to rip CDs and digitize books for personal consumption, and I have also begun buying albums I want from Amazon Music (they let you download the mp3 files directly instead of a Spotify/YT Music system).

  • I am going to be hosting immich for my Google Photos replacement

  • I don’t know the best service for a YT Music/Spotify replacement, but maybe Jellyfin of nothing else.

  • I want to have a digital movie library.

So there’s the rub. How can I have a digital movie library without ripping DVDs? It is an unauthorized reproduction and although nobody is prosecuted, it is illegal and I’d have to disclose that.

Any advice is welcome, and I’d love to hear conversation about this.

    • madjic@alien.topBEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      Depends on the jurisdiction

      There might be laws against “cracking” the copy-protection (CSS for DVD, hdcp for BR) although there might be precedent that it’s okay for home use

    • Quark__Soup@alien.topOPBEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      It’s fair use to copy the files but it’s illegal separately to break the DRM, meaning you can’t digitize a DVD without breaking the law

  • h3xdump@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Unless you’re doing a full scope nobody will care. Even then it’s highly doubtful.

    • New_Yogurtcloset1035@alien.topBEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      Even a full scope, they don’t give a shit about ripping DVDs or torrenting. They want to know if you’re a druggie, gay, or terrorist/spy…

  • joelnodxd@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    you can manually find which movies are out of their copyright period and are free to download, but you’ll only be watching 50s/early 2000s romcoms if you do that

  • redoubt515@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    > so I cannot rip DVDs, I cannot capture streams

    Would any government job with a serious enough mission to require polygraphs and security clearances actually care about this kind of kindergarten illegality.

    Seems like the digital equivalent of jaywalking or rolling a stop sign. Are they also going to check up and make sure you have never burned a CD in your life, or shared a Netflix password?

  • Thutex@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    pro tip: if you do not read the ToS, you also can’t lie about if you are breaking them or not

  • rah@feddit.ukEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    I cannot rip DVDs

    In the US, this is legal:

    “This means that you can legally rip a DVD for personal use, as long as you don’t violate any of the other copyright laws. What does this mean in practice? You can rip a DVD for your own personal use, but you can’t distribute the ripped file to others. You also can’t make a copy of the ripped file for someone else.”

    https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/tips/is-it-legal-to-rip-dvd.html

    • emprahsFury@alien.topBEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      Regardless, they are used to make adjudications. You can be the one to sink millions of dollars suing the feds after the Denny you a job.

  • Mrderisant@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Polygraph don’t measure truth. They measure your nerves. If you are nervous about obfuscating your piracy it would show up on the graph