The RIAA announced in June that it would be taking action
against individual file-sharers, not just the file-sharing
networks, like KaZaA, which facilitate the unlawful swapping of
copyrighted material.
Since then it has served over 1,000 subpoenas under the
controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), ordering
ISPs to identify targeted individuals. Unlike most subpoenas, which
require the filing of a case and evidence to support the case,
under the DMCA a subpoena is issued by a court clerk without a case
being filed or evidence submitted.
With the information obtained under the subpoena, the RIAA can
then sue the individuals. It filed 261 such actions in
mid-September.
In August an unnamed woman challenged the RIAA's right to
receive the subpoena information, and filed an action against the
association in the name of "Jane Doe". On Friday another such
action was filed by the ACLU and Boston law firm Prince, Lobel,
Glovsky & Tye, on behalf of an anonymous Boston College
student, who was advised by her school that the RIAA had sent a
subpoena seeking to uncover her identity.
"We're not saying the recording industry shouldn't go after
file-sharers, only that they must do so in a way that's fair," said
Christopher Hansen, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU.
"There are lots of reasons why people need anonymity on-line and
why it should not be so easy to lose," Hansen explained. "If the
recording industry can uncover your identity simply by claiming
that a copyright violation has occurred, then the Chinese
government can use the same tool to find out the name of a
dissident, and a batterer can use it to find out the address of a
domestic violence shelter."
The RIAA has been subjected to severe criticism for its
sledgehammer approach to dealing with individual file-swappers – to
such an extent that a Senate subcommittee is now investigating. But
there is evidence that the strategy is working.
The RIAA announced on Monday that 52 of the 261 file-swappers
sued by the association have now settled. A further twelve who had
been notified of the RIAA's interest in them have also settled, in
a pre-emptive bid to prevent litigation. No settlement figures have
officially been released, but reports estimate that the
file-swappers have paid between $2,000 and $10,000 each.
The RIAA's mid-September announcement of an amnesty for
file-sharers has met with limited success. According to CNet
News.com the RIAA has received 838 affidavits from individuals
confessing to sharing copyrighted music over P2P networks, and
promising never to do it again. This is a drop in the ocean
compared to the number of file-swappers worldwide –KaZaA claims its
sharing software has been downloaded over 230 million times.
More positive news for the RIAA comes from a recent survey by
Nielsen//Netratings which shows a 40% drop in the use of the KaZaA
network since the RIAA sued four students earlier this year.
The ACLU argument is at:
www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=13791&c=251
