Cartoon HD has been out of the news for a while as there haven’t been any interesting developments around the app, but clones of it keep popping up all the time, some with even more impressive features than the original. Developers are still experimenting with new ways to make streaming as convenient as possible for their users, and we’ve seen different approaches from different corners of the tech world.
However, one problem remains unaddressed, and it could cause some serious issues for users in the long term. The technology behind some programs like Cartoon HD is based on the Torrent protocol, which means that a user streaming a video is essentially also sharing it to others on the network. Because of this, some users might find themselves hit with fines from their Internet Service Providers.
The problem is that “sharing” content in this manner is easily traceable for people involved with copyright holders, and from then it’s trivial to sue the person sharing the content. Some law firms have made a fortune from this business model, and they keep sending out lawsuits to people sharing their clients’ materials on torrent networks.
Which is where the problem comes in for users of some of Cartoon HD’s clones. The way some of these applications work is similar, and they also allow their users to be prosecuted if they live in a country with strict piracy laws. Because of this, users from such countries should be particularly careful with their usage habits for programs like Cartoon HD.
On the other hand, using a VPN client can prevent this from happening but it’s a complicated option for many Internet users, and some don’t want to pay for premium services of this kind either. But it’s generally much better than paying a hefty fine for having shared copyrighted materials.
What does this say for the future of similar programs? Developers are already working on finding a solution to the problem, but it’s not clear what it might be. A new protocol might be needed, one specifically designed for apps like Cartoon HD, which limits users’ ability to share and only allows them to download and stream instead.
Of course, that would undermine the whole point of the system, because then the content would have to be hosted on a centralized server, defeating the whole point of using a torrent system in the first place. There has to be some middle ground that developers haven’t come across yet though, and it’s probably a matter of time before someone thinks of a solution.