Goodbye, Due ProcessRIAA tactic opens can of worms
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old news - 09:23AM Tuesday Aug 26 2003)
tags: legal · Op/Ed · privacyWith the RIAA's success at obtaining subscriber info via the DMCA, will there be a flood of businesses on the hunt for personal data?. That's the claim of this
Detroit Free Press editorialist, who claims the method will become the "new spam" of the internet. He claims one porn website has already issued subpoenas to SBC in order to learn the identities of individuals surfing their website. A new and dangerous precedent has been set by the RIAA's actions, he argues. As it stands now, anyone can claim ownership of a copyright, fill out a one-page form, and a federal clerk issues the subpoena to the Internet service provider in question. The ISP then faces penalties if they question the subpoena's validity.