Danish national individual receives deferred sentence for sharing nude film clips on Reddit

A Denmark-based man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

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

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

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

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of creators' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".