Spy Pet, a controversial service that allegedly sold access to a massive database containing over 3 billion Discord messages and personal information of more than 600 million users, appears to have been shut down following investigations by Discord’s safety team. The service’s website is currently unavailable, and Discord has banned accounts associated with Spy Pet.
Discord Takes Action Against Spy Pet
A Discord spokesperson confirmed to Ars that the company has been “diligently investigating” Spy Pet and has taken action by banning accounts affiliated with the service. The spokesperson emphasized that scraping Discord’s services and self-botting are clear violations of the platform’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. In addition to the account bans, Discord is considering appropriate legal action against Spy Pet.
Spy Pet’s Operations and Kiwi Farms Connection
According to 404 Media, which first reported on Spy Pet’s offerings, the number of Discord servers monitored by the service had been fluctuating in recent days. The site’s administrator admitted to 404 Media’s Joseph Cox that they were rewriting part of the service and acknowledged that Discord had banned several of their bots. Despite claiming that the tool was not intended for harassment, the administrator’s alleged connection to Kiwi Farms, a notorious hub for doxxing and online harassment campaigns targeting marginalized communities, raises serious concerns.
Potential Violations of Data Protection Regulations
Even if Spy Pet manages to circumvent Discord’s bans or survive legal action, the service’s practices likely violate various Internet regulations worldwide. For example, Spy Pet appears to be in clear violation of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), particularly Article 17, which grants individuals the “right to be forgotten.” Additionally, gathering and profiting from data potentially belonging to children’s accounts may draw scrutiny from both the GDPR (Article 8) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Uncertain Future for Spy Pet
Attempts to reach the administrator of Spy Pet via email and Telegram were unsuccessful. Their last message on Telegram indicated that their domain had been suspended, and they were setting up a backup domain. The administrator’s cryptic message, “TL;DR: Never trust the Germans,” suggests ongoing difficulties in maintaining the service.
As Discord continues its investigation and considers legal action, the future of Spy Pet remains uncertain. The shutdown of this controversial service highlights the importance of user privacy and the need for strict enforcement of data protection regulations to prevent the unauthorized scraping and sale of personal information on social media platforms.
The Information is taken from Ars Technica and Tom’s Guide.
