Danish national man receives suspended prison term for sharing explicit film clips on Reddit

A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.

According to the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude content were circulated in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".