To MediaFire on Removing Mr. Farsani’s Article

This post keeps being updated

Dear MediaFire,

You have recently taken down a PDF that I had uploaded to your website a couple of days ago. That PDF contained the full text of an article on Khodnevis.org that had referenced one Mr. Abbas Khosravi Farsani in regards to the link-sharing Farsi website, Balatarin. I had in turn referenced that article in my article about the violation of freedom of expression by Balatarin, and my article was originally posted on Iranian.com on April 7, 2015. My article is quite documented. In it I have presented many links and articles – beside that containing Mr. Farsani’s claims – that claim Balatarin limits the freedom of expression of its users and jeopardizes their security by compromising their IDs.

However, as soon as my article appeared on the net, the article referencing Mr. Farsani’s claims disappeared, first from Khodnevis where it had been originally posted, and then from Balatarin where it had been shared. That article had attracted a lot of attention and generated a great deal of argument both on Khodnevis and Balatarin. But the links are dead now. The one on Khodnevis simply says “The intended page was not found”, and the one on Balatarin states “This link was removed for addressing ‘Balatarin’s internal affairs’”. The same thing has happened with the PDF that I had posted to MediaFire. Your message reads “The file you requested has been removed from MediaFire for a violation of our Terms of Service.”

Now, I myself am a well-known Iranian writer and political activist, and I have been forced to live a difficult life in exile for the past couple of years because there is no freedom of expression in Iran. I have meticulously researched the topic about which I have written. I believe Mr. Farsani, as a Balatarin user and a political activist, has a right to make certain claims, proving of which rests solely with his person. And I think bringing down an important article like the one containing Mr. Farsani’s claims calls for more than just a general announcement. As such, I demand a specific reason as to why the PDF containing Mr. Farsani’s claims was taken down by MediaFire.

Sincerely yours,

Reza Parchizadeh

4/14/2015

*P.S. In a recent open letter to the Knodnevis management in his personal weblog, Mr. Farsani has maintained his former claims against Balatarin. The letter has also been published by Iran Liberal, Rangin Kaman, Tahlil-e Rooz, and News Station for Basic Human Rights so far. Mr. Farsani has also republished in his personal weblog the text of the eliminated article containing his claims.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

Thank you for contacting MediaFire.

When MediaFire suspended your file(s) due to our receipt of a DMCA Take Down Notice, we sent you an email notification. Within this notification are instructions on how to file a Counterclaim. Please follow those instructions to begin the Counterclaim process.

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and we value the opportunity to uphold the distribution rights of protected content.

Sincerely,

Charlie
MediaFire | The DMCA Processing Department

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, Charlie,

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, I did not receive the email. Would you please be kind enough to forward it here so that I'll know what I should do?

Best,

Reza

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

I'm afraid I don't have any DMCA claims listed under this email address.  Was the file uploaded to another account?  Do you have the sharing link for the file which was blocked?

--------------------------------------------------------

I logged in with my Facebook account when uploading the file. That might be why the email address you used to notify me was different, and I don't know what address it was that you used. This address is my primary email address. Please use this to notify me henceforward. And this is the link to the file that was taken down:

http://www.mediafire.com/error.php?errno=378&quickkey=yp152ccy2e6xvbu&origin=download

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

According to our records, the notification would have been sent to this address:
rparchizadeh@gmail.com
Can you check that address for any messages?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just did that. There is nothing there from you. I would like to receive whatever I was supposed to receive via this email address, please.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I should point out that the address is listed in our system this way:

rezaparchizadeh@gmail.com
Notice that there is no period between "reza" and "parchizadeh."

Are you able to contact us via that email address?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't remember ever having that email address. There has always been a (.) between my name and surname. All the same, I just checked the address you gave me on Google to see what happens, and nothing did. Anyway, If you need an ID or anything like that I can provide you with it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To verify your identity, please answer the following questions to the best of your ability:

1. When did you create your account?

2. What is the name and upload date of your most recent file?

3. Do you have a paid subscription? If so, what are the last four digits of your credit card number, and what is the name on the card?

Once we have verified your identity we will gladly help with the rest of the counterclaim process.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. When did you create your account?

     Probably last week. I just signed in with my Facebook account.

2. What is the name and upload date of your most recent file?

تحریم «بالاترین» توسط جمعی از کاربران؛ یکی از کاربران شناخته‌شده «بالاترین» عامل شناسایی و بازداشت من شد

2015-04-11 / 06:52:53

3. Do you have a paid subscription? If so, what are the last four digits of your credit card number, and what is the name on the card?

    No.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Reza,

Your ticket was brought to my attention and I'd like to take the opportunity to clear some confusion. We did not receive a DMCA Notice regarding your file. However, we did receive a request from Balatarin.com to suspend access to the file violating our Terms of Service. Their claim was based upon their belief that the content was libelous and defamatory. At this time we're unable to restore access to the file.

Kind regards,

Daniel

-----------------------------------------------------

Daniel,

Thanks for the clarification. The questions I would like to ask now are:

1) Did you have a chance yet to investigate the content of the file I had uploaded to see if it really is "libelous and defamatory" in violation of your Terms of Service?

2) When will I know the final ruling of MediaFire on the keeping or removal of my file?

By the way, I would like you to consider the initial email I sent MediaFire in regards to the whole matter. My email was rather explanatory of the whole situation. That can probably help you. I am anxiously looking forward to the clarification of the whole matter.

Best regards,

Reza

----------------------------------------------------