Rob Fischer
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Rob Fischer

Rob Fischer is a freelance journalist based in New York and a researcher for GQ.

Recent Articles

The End of the Internet?

As Wikipedia and Google protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a rival bill offers a middle road to protecting copyrights.

Rob FischerJan 17, 2012
Nancy Scola/yfrog
Google

Google featured a censored doodle in protest of proposed SOPA legislation Wednesday.

Virtual Justice

The head administrator of Ninja Video is sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Rob FischerJan 10, 2012
Updated 9:00 a.m.

Hana Beshara, the head administrator of Ninja Video, a TV- and movie-streaming site seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in June 2010—and the subject of my article, “A Ninja In Our Sites,” in the January/February issue of the Prospect—was sentenced on Friday to 22 months in prison. Upon release, she will be required to complete 500 hours of community service and pay $209,827 in restitution to the film industry’s lobbying group, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Restitution payments have been set at $150 a month, which means Beshara is expected to give a chunk of her future income to the MPAA for a little over 116 years.

A Ninja in Our Sites

An aggressive federal enforcement effort targets online piracy—and threatens the open Internet.

Rob FischerDec 15, 2011

In February 2008, Ninja Video went online and quickly distinguished itself in the unsightly, often malfunctioning world of Internet piracy. The site’s silver, black, and crimson palette spoke to a punk aesthetic, but the content and layout were fastidiously organized. The main page posted a nightly lineup of colorful movie and television banners, rather than the drab link text found on most pirate sites. Popular TV programs like Lost and Fringe would be up five minutes after the latest episode ended. New movies were often on the site before their nationwide premieres. The Ninja staff bundled cinema packages devoted to LGBT issues, classic films, and presidential debates.