Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2003 09:55:30 -0400
From: Kim Brooks Wei <kimi@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: EFF warns against RIAA amnesty
X-Sender: kimi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: Dave Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112362,00.asp
Users Warned About Anti-Piracy Campaign
Individuals should not accept RIAA's offer of amnesty, privacy group says.
Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service
Monday, September 08, 2003
U.S. privacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning
individuals not to admit to illegally trading copyright music online, even
if the music industry offers a reprieve from its anti-piracy campaign,
saying that users could still be subject to legal action.
The EFF issued a statement Friday in response to several published reports
that the Recording Industry Association of America was set to launch an
"amnesty" program this week, in which it would excuse users who swapped
copyright music online if they erased the music from their computers,
destroyed all hard copies, and promised not to engage in future online piracy.
"Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a
sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially
since the RIAA doesn't control many potential sources of lawsuits," EFF
Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer said in the statement.
Change In Tactics
The RIAA, which had been targeting peer-to-peer file trading networks in
its efforts to battle online piracy, has recently set its sights on
individual file traders. The association has filed over 1,000 information
subpoenas, asking Internet service providers and universities to hand over
data on users thought to be illegally trading music online.
The stepped-up campaign has sparked concern among some privacy groups,
individuals, and ISPs that are reluctant to hand over private customer
data. Verizon Services, for example, fought for a year to protect the
identities of four of its customers but lost its appeal in June.
In August an anonymous Californian woman filed a motion challenging a
subpoena asking her ISP to hand over her identity. The case, refered to as
the "Jane Doe" motion, was the first time an individual has struck back
against the subpoena campaign.
New Plan
With criticism of the music industry's latest legal tactics increasing,
reports surfaced last week that the RIAA would be offering an amnesty
program for individual file traders.
An RIAA representative refused to comment on the reports Monday. The group
has scheduled a press conference call to announce "anti-piracy
initiatives" at 12 p.m. Eastern time Monday, however.
In addition to RIAA officials, "leaders from throughout the music
community" will be participating in the call, an RIAA press advisory said.
The RIAA announcement comes in the wake of news that the U.S. Congress
will be holding hearings on the subpoena provision of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, which has been the legal backbone of the RIAA's
subpoena campaign.
According to the EFF, 95 organizations, including the American Civil
Liberties Union and major ISPs, sent letters to congressional leaders
applauding the hearings because of their concerns with the provision,
which they say invade the privacy of Internet users without due process of law.
The RIAA, for its part, has held that the 1998 DMCA clearly lays out the
right of copyright holders to file subpoenas seeking the identity of
alleged infringers.
Addressing the issue recently, Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of
business and legal affairs at the RIAA, said that courts have already
ruled that individuals are not anonymous when they publicly distribute
music online.
--
Kim Brooks Wei
www.kimbwei.com
P O Box 626
Fair Lawn
NJ 07410
V 201.475.1854
kimi@xxxxxxxxxxx