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Recording industry subpoenas sharers Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Recording industry on attack
Subpoenas data on Net music sharers
By James Collins, Globe Correspondent, 7/19/2003
The recording industry, following through on its promise to take legal action against ordinary computer users who share music on the Internet, is filing hundreds of subpoenas, demanding the names and addresses of copyright violators from Internet service providers.
At least 871 subpoenas have been issued since the industry began its campaign last month, according to a review of court records conducted by the Associated Press.
The subpoenas do not appear to be aimed just at high-profile users who share hundreds of megabytes of music. Several of the documents, which the Recording Industry Assocation of America has filed by the boxload in US District Court in Washington, demand information about casual users who are accused of sharing only a few files.
The association, in a statement last night, said it was merely following through on a warning it had issued June 25 in announcing the crackdown.
''This should not surprise anyone,'' spokeswoman Amy Weiss said in the statement. ''Filing information subpoenas is part of the evidence gathering process . . . in anticipation of the lawsuits that we will be filing.''
In subpoenas it sent to Boston College, for example, the association is requesting information about two users of the school's network who use the screen names ''Prtythug23'' and ''TheLastReal7'' to share music over the Internet file-sharing network KaZaA. In the subpoena, the association cites several songs it alleges were being shared, including rap artist Snoop Dogg's ''Lay Low'' and pop singer Avril Lavigne's ''Complicated.''
Officials at Boston College could not be reached for comment last night.
Internet privacy activists decried the campaign yesterday, pointing to a disputed 1998 law that has allowed recording industry lobby groups to file the requests.
''It sets up a situation where your privacy can be violated on the mere unsubstantiated allegation that you've done something wrong,'' said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. The leading electronic privacy organization, it sponsors a website that provides users with advice about how to fight the subpoenas.
''We think it's terrible that the entertainment companies appear willing to violate the privacy of thousands of people,'' Cohn said. ''Given the scale of this, it's highly likely that there will be errors.''
A provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was passed by Congress to combat Internet piracy, permits music companies to issue legally binding subpoenas without the approval of a judge.
The industry group is using the procedure to provide Internet service providers and universities with the Internet addresses of hundreds of users it accuses of illegal file-sharing. In return, the group is demanding that the service providers, including Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp., turn over the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of users.
Verizon, which said yesterday that it was ''in the process of complying'' with about 150 of the recording industry association's requests, has unsuccessfully challenged the law in court. A US District Court judge ruled in January that the subpoenas do not require a judge's signature, paving the way for the flood of requests, which has overwhelmed the court and forced it to reassign clerks who usually handle other types of cases, according to the Associated Press.
''This has opened up a window for the RIAA and other organizations to launch a blizzard of subpoenas,'' said a Verizon spokesman, Larry Plumb. The company is complying with the ruling while pursuing an appeal.
Under US copyright law, the association could seek damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song shared illegally. A spokeswoman would not say yesterday how many subpoenas the organization plans to file, or whether it would press for the full amount in penalties.
While Verizon ''fully supports'' the rights of copyright holders, Plumb said, the way the subpoenas are granted jeopardizes the rights of thousands of Internet users.
''There are copyright protection interests, but there are also rights to due process and privacy,'' he said.
Plumb said it takes the company about 45 minutes to find the information sought in each subpoena. He said the company will begin providing the names and addresses when it exhausts all its legal options.
''This isn't over yet,'' Plumb said.
Comcast, however, plans to comply fully with the association's demands, spokeswoman Sarah Eder said last night.
The Philadelphia-based cable and Internet access provider is mailing letters to the users named in the documents, Eder said, though she would not say how many subpoenas the company has received.
Technicians will provide the association with the users' names, addresses, and phone numbers, but will not release their e-mail addresses, Eder said.
James Collins can be reached at collins@globe.com.
This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 7/19/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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