Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Internet providers have voluntarily shut down Web sites that contain infringing material, but Verizon has balked at requests to disconnect users who trade songs with each other directly over peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa and the now-defunct Napster. Such a move would violate users' privacy and free-speech rights, Verizon said, because it would require Internet providers to police their users' Internet activity, rather than simply the material they post on Verizon server computers.

The move could have severe consequences for Internet providers worldwide if record companies--or anybody claiming copyright violations--could easily obtain the name and address of any Internet user, McBride argued. U.S. District Judge John Bates did not seemed inclined to change his mind at Thursday's hearing, and questioned whether his ruling would have the sort of impact claimed by Verizon. "I'm just hard-pressed to understand how I am supposed to take into account all these consequences to Internet providers, when it's just a single decision by a lowly district court judge," Bates said. Bates said he would rule quickly.