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Is it permissible to download a resource that is currently available publicly and freely from the internet without permission from the one who posted it and/or the one who hosts the website?

For example, one can download a YouTube video using third-party software. Eventually the person who uploaded the video may remove the video; this might be because he wants to sell it, because he is embarrassed by it, etc. YouTube may also remove the video if they find it contains copyrighted material or is exceedingly offensive (which we should not download to begin with). It seems that the basic reasons for why a resource may be taken down are either copyright/legal or personal.

Even if there is a general rule of this being forbidden, is there a possibility that this is permissible for Torah resources?

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    I don't really know how is it any different from the general case. According to the Terms & Conditions, on YouTube you're allowed to view a video on the site, and you don't have permission to download it in any other way.
    – Kazi bácsi
    Commented Dec 14, 2021 at 9:06
  • You should verify this with your someone who knows his stuff, but I'm fairly certain that Rav Shlomo Zalman held that this was completely mutar due to the fact that it is extremely vulnerable and is in fact downloaded often, therefore it is as though the property is already dusconnected from the owner (the terms in halacha is "avudah mimeno").
    – Shmuel Koppel
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 20:43

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