<s>
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
was	O
a	O
user	O
contributed	O
online	B-Application
video	I-Application
directory	I-Application
for	O
television	O
programmes	O
,	O
films	O
,	O
and	O
music	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
similar	O
style	O
to	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
trackers	I-Protocol
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
video	O
content	O
was	O
not	O
hosted	O
by	O
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
18	O
October	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
's	O
servers	O
,	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
,	O
were	O
raided	O
and	O
shut	O
down	O
by	O
Gloucestershire	O
police	O
in	O
cooperation	O
with	O
the	O
Federation	O
Against	O
Copyright	O
Theft	O
(	O
FACT	O
)	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
complaints	O
received	O
from	O
major	O
US	O
film	O
studios	O
about	O
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
launched	O
in	O
October	O
2006	O
,	O
following	O
a	O
surge	O
in	O
services	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
statement	O
issued	O
by	O
FACT	O
following	O
the	O
events	O
,	O
local	O
trading	O
standards	O
head	O
Roger	O
Marles	O
implied	O
that	O
the	O
website	O
's	O
update	O
from	O
hyperlinks	O
to	O
a	O
streaming	B-Application
video	I-Application
player	O
might	O
have	O
affected	O
the	O
shutdown	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
arrest	O
and	O
shutdown	O
were	O
initiated	O
because	O
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
allowed	O
users	O
"	O
[	O
to	O
view ]	O
any	O
one	O
of	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
films	O
and	O
television	O
programmes	O
directly	O
via	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
unclear	O
whether	O
or	O
not	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
was	O
a	O
crime	O
under	O
UK	O
law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
used	O
hyperlinks	O
and	O
later	O
a	O
streaming	O
web-based	O
video	O
player	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
link	O
visitors	O
to	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
policy	O
was	O
further	O
enforced	O
by	O
a	O
technical	O
implementation	O
,	O
the	O
URL	O
that	O
directed	O
the	O
video	O
player	O
to	O
video	O
files	O
contained	O
a	O
randomly	O
generated	O
MD5	B-Algorithm
encoded	O
string	O
and	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
expire	O
after	O
several	O
minutes	O
,	O
or	O
after	O
being	O
loaded	O
once	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eva	O
Wiseman	O
of	O
The	O
Guardian	O
had	O
described	O
the	O
practices	O
of	O
linking	O
to	O
copyrighted	O
content	O
as	O
"	O
teetering	O
on	O
the	O
edge	O
of	O
illegality	O
"	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
on	O
similar	O
video	B-Application
directory	I-Application
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
speculated	O
that	O
concerns	O
over	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
websites	O
such	O
as	O
TV	B-Application
Links	I-Application
were	O
an	O
influence	O
on	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
official	O
online	O
video	B-Application
on	I-Application
demand	I-Application
services	I-Application
from	O
the	O
UK	O
's	O
terrestrial	O
television	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
BBC	B-Application
iPlayer	I-Application
and	O
4od	O
.	O
</s>
