The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) plans to transition from suing individual file sharers and will instead focus on having Internet access cut for repeat offenders.
This is a drastic change from the way the RIAA attempted to previously stifle P2P file sharing, with thousands of John Doe lawsuits filed against alleged file sharers. The extremely unpopular campaign targeted anyone from teenagers all the way to elderly people -- with dead people and citizens who don't own a PC also targeted.
The RIAA reportedly has deals arranged with several major ISPs in which the trade group will inform the ISP of a repeat offender via letter. If the same user continues to share files, it's possible the ISP may throttle their Internet connection before entirely cutting off access for a set duration.
The new campaign will allow the RIAA to reach more people accused of file sharing, while each lawsuit only deterred one person from file sharing.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation believes it's extremely troubling that our ISPs will suddenly jump into bed with the RIAA.
"This is very troubling," EFF legal director Cindy Cohn told CNET. "Creating lists of people who can't get Internet access based on allegations of breaking a law that hasn't been evaluated in a court of law. It’s good that that the (RIAA) wants to stop suing individuals but they should haven’t done it in the first place. I’d be especially concerned if the music labels can get you kicked off one ISP and then arrange to get you kicked off others, or the creation of blacklists. That’s certainly what our fears have been about private legal enforcement regimen."
It remains unknown how much (or what) kind of evidence must be provided to the ISPs by the RIAA before they take action.
CNET has posted a copy of the letter ISPs will receive when a customer is accused of copyright infringement.
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Karma: 33330 , Sat 20 Dec 2008 06:30
I seriously doubt this will go anywhere. It's just the next illogical step the RIAA takes since it largely loses in court and has precedents firmly established against it to HAVE to prove user x downloaded the content FAR beyond just having a general IP address.
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Karma: 2650 , Sat 20 Dec 2008 07:52
Yeah, I'm betting they aren't going to have much success with this one. In their previous lawsuits, they were at least claiming to be following a legal process. This new tactic is going to face a few challenges, not the least of which is that pesky constitutional thing about due process. The ISPs will be opening themselves up to massive lawsuits if they terminate/cripple someone's access based simply on a claim from the RIAA, their going to need an actual court ruling against that individual, where evidence and a defense was presented, and a conviction obtained, otherwise they'll be screwed. This new tactic should result in quite a few new lawsuits, but against the ISPs and RIAA instead of individuals. The lawyers are going to love it.
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Karma: 13910 , Sat 20 Dec 2008 14:27
"
We have a good faith belief that this activity is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this illegal activity. Specifically, we respectfully request that you remove or disable access to the unauthorized music. "
In other words, we don't have rock solid proof to take this to court. I hope this crap doesn't get any traction.
Who cares if it will work or not? It sure beats the hell out of a hefty bill. I would rather a letter or 2, then suspension for a month. Theres more than one way to get internet.
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Karma: 3340 , Sat 20 Dec 2008 23:08
This would be a great reason for me to dump one ISP and go with another. Let's wait and see what ISP's are on board once the reports start rolling in...
The RIAA suing people never did no damage to the overall P2P Network.
