31 July 2003

Targeting downloaders, music industry fires subpoenas 

The battle between the record industry and people downloading copyrighted
music continued this week when the record labels began issuing subpoenas to
colleges and Internet service providers such as Verizon Online, asking them
to turn over the names and personal information of 950 people suspected of
illegally downloading songs from the Internet. Some of those subpoenaed,
including Verizion, are opting not to comply with the order to turn over
data about their subscribers.

"This is turning into a subpoena mill," said Sarah Deutsch,
associate general counsel for Verizon. The company has received over 200
name requests. "We're not just going to roll over and allow this kind
of process." Despite Verizon's defiant stand, others, including
Comcast, have announced that they intend to cooperate with the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA), the lobby group representing the
record companies.

In response to the record industry's subpoena campaign, the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF, San Francisco, Calif.) has created a Web site
that allows people who have swapped or downloaded music files to verify
whether they have been subpoenaed. The page, at
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/howto-notgetsued.php, comes under the heading
"How not to get sued by the RIAA for file sharing." Should you
discover that you are being subpoenaed, the EFF Web site provides
information on how to beat the charges and how to stay below the record
industry's radar in the future.




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