🔗 Share this article

A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police state he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 female performers.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.

Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of particular actors.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' rights have consequences".

The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with much more easily".