• sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    But what if I don’t agree to the TOS? I use YouTube w/o an account, I am never prompted to agree to any TOS, and I can watch videos just fine. So my understanding is the TOS doesn’t apply because I never agreed to them.

    I reject the idea that users are expected to go find the TOS when using a new website, and close the website if they disagree with the terms. I don’t do that when entering a store, so why would a website be any different? If a physical store wants me to abide by some terms, they can either present it to me when I enter (e.g. checking ID at a bar or casino), or stop me when I violate some rule and tell me I need to leave or agree to the terms to continue being there. None of that happens w/ YouTube, I just load the webpage, click a video, and I’m watching a video. At no point am I presented with any form of TOS prompt, so I have to assume my behavior is acceptable for YouTube.

    The only thing I’m doing differently from the average person is blocking ads, not by changing any of the code on the page, but by essentially blocking things at the network level. At what point have I committed piracy?

    • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.mlEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      I mean, when I goto Google or YouTube signed out, and without an ad blocker/tracking auto reject I get a pop up with their short ToS, every time.

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        Huh, really? I just tried on a fresh browser (Safari on macOS) and didn’t get any kind of popup. I never use Safari, so it’s safe to say I’ve never accessed YT on it. I have no extensions, I was just presented with a page that says “search to get started” or something, then when I load a video, I get ads. No TOS popup at all.

        So me adding an ad-blocker in this scenario wouldn’t be an issue because I was never asked to accept any terms of service. At least that’s my understanding. And it certainly wouldn’t be piracy because I’m doing nothing to access something I shouldn’t, YouTube is just giving me access because I asked nicely.

        • Redex@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          5 months ago

          For me this is fighting over semantics. It doesn’t really matter if it’s legally piracy or not since nobody is gonna go after you for it either way. It’s about whether what you’re doing is moral or the intended way. You can use adblocker, but then you’re just freeloading. Fact of the matter is that nothing is free and everything needs compensation when at scale. You can rightfully claim that YouTube shoves too many ads and that it’s a monopoly so it abuses it’s position, but at the end of the day you’re using the service without compensating for it, so you’re stealing at least something.