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Verizon Set Back Again in DMCA Subpoena Case
NickV writes "Hope is getting direr for online privacy. The US District Court ruled today that Verizon must hand over the names of the two P2P downloaders. Hopefully Verizon can get a stay on the court order by the Court of Appeals. They have 14 days. Support the EFF! Without a serious lobbying group in DC, privacy will continue to be eroded."
Now corporations have more power than the cops, since cops need a judicial approval aka warrant to retrieve evidense/information.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
A lot of websites brag that they don't keep any logs. Can't Verizon do this too? Are they required to track who, what and where on your internet connection?
The quote from verizon's counsel says it best, "It's virtually unprecedented in U.S. law that someone can use a form to find out your identity without any judicial process."
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
I am an avid /. reader, and a privacy/YRO advocate, and it saddens me when I realize that 90% of the people I know haven't even HEARD of the DMCA or the Patriot Act or the EFF, or any of it.
It seems to me, that the EFF could be likened to organizations like GreenPeace. Everyone who has ever been on a college campus knows what Green Peace is, but incase you don't they are a group of volunteers that solicit people for supporting their cause - that cause being supporting the environment through legal actions (lobbying, etc).
Why don't we have people on campus letting people know about their freedoms, about the lies spread by the RIAA/MPAA, and about *what can be done to help* ?
no comment
The interesting thing about this case is that the RIAA walked up to Verizon and demanded the customers name. No subpoena, no court order. They claimed that the DMCA gives them the right to do so and that there is no court order necessary...
So basicaly the cops need a court order, private lobyist groups don't. Somehow this doesn't sound right, does it? IANAL but I think the right thing(tm) to do would have been the RIAA suing John Doe and the court issuing a subpoena for Verizon. If the RIAA wins this case, then there will be a dangerous precedent for copyright holders to get customer data without any sort of oversight from courts.
...when the right of corporations to profit exceeds the right of individuals to privacy. The whole point of due process and search restrictions is that it's more important to protect the privacy of everyone, even if that means letting many criminals go free. Sure, no one's going to argue that MP3 trading of copyrighted works is legal, but neither is going 35 in a 25 zone, or drinking underage, or photocopying sections of books, or what have you. Where the hell are the anti-trust laws and campaign finance reforms when you need them?
I really don't see any way to destroy the RIAA without attacking their profits. The RIAA wants to turn our government into a police state just to ensure it's bottom line is well padded. The scary part of distopias like 1984 is not what is considered illegal, but how strictly it is enforced. When a private organization passes laws to protect its business model, and acts as a law enforcement agency without the consent of the people, I can't see how any attack on them, in any form could be considered immoral. We are confronted with a total hijacking of our government for the sake of profits. Artists be damned, copyrights be damned, I'm sick of this shit. That's why everyone should do everything they can to hurt the RIAA bottom line as much as possible. Buy no cds. Support live performances. Supply your (trustworthy) friends with free mp3's. The US government, especially when covered in republican parasites, will never choose the people over a lucrative corporation. Our only recourse is to not give them a DOLLAR.
But there is another kind of evil that we must fear most... and that is the indifference of good men.
You should RTFA. The issue goes like this:
RIAA: Hey give me the names of these two people
Verizon: Uh, get a court order
RIAA: No, the DMCA says we can get the name of anybody we accuse of stealing without a court order.
Verizon: That sounds unconstitutional. A judge should decide if your case has sufficient merit to pierce their right to privacy.
RIAA: Judge! They won't give us the names of people that the DMCA says we can have without a court order.
Judge: Okay Verizon, do what the DMCA says.
Verizon: I think you should reconsider, Judge. The DMCA is unconstitutional.
Judge: It's the law, I am not changing my decision.
Now verizon has to appeal to a higher court that the DMCA is unconstitutional. (hint: It probably is, and if it looks like this case will cause a constitutionality review by a federal circuit court, RIAA will drop the case and prevent that from happening. Does the name "Felden" ring a bell?)
Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.
Edward Everett (1794 - 1865)
So when ISPs are required to release customer information on open p2p connections and their respective users, and the open source community developes a self organizing, encrypted p2p network, using similar encryption technology to that of online purchasing (credit cards, etc) will the RIAA tackle encryption citing the DMCA? I'd like to see that hold up in a court. If all transmissions must be monitored for piracy, and one can not conceal the source of information, does this mean the RIAA and our ISPs have access to our credit card numbers when purchasing from amazon.com? If the same technology used to encrypt private information were applied tp p2p applications, such that the ISPs can't tell the difference between a credit card number and the Dixie Chick's latest hit, what would the RIAA do?
Your privacy deserves to be gone if you commit an illegal act. The only reason Verizon is withholding the names is so all their subscribers. don't migrate to other services in order to prevent from being caught. I don't see anyone here crying about the Enron CEO being placed under house arrest with a tracking bracelet, violating his privacy, but of course it's perfectly OK to steal music from artists. Don't even bother replying that the analogy is incorrect, both people stole.
That's a really stupid, oversimplified opinion.
First off we're (almost) all criminals. Have you ever got a parking ticket? Then you're a criminal. Ever publicly perform "Happy Birthday" without sending in a royalty check?
Second, you clearly didn't RTFA. This case isn't about whether Verizon ever has to turn over the info, it's about what has to be proven and what procedures must be followed for it to happen. The DMCA is attempting to lower these standards.
Third, just because someone accuses you of a criminal, doesn't mean you are one. In America, you are supposed to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. See (2). Certain standards must be met before the police are given the right to search my house.
Fourth, the RIAA is not a law enforcement agency. Why should this information be given directly to them? They've already shown that they want to be a vigilante group. Where's the buffer that protects me from them?
Fifth, downloading mp3s is copyright infringement, not theft.
Finally, even criminals deserve a certain amount of privacy. Quote: "the Enron CEO being placed under house arrest with a tracking bracelet, violating his privacy" Actally, that not really as much a violation of is privacy as it is right right to move around freely. There aren't TV cameras inside his house broadcasting it for everyone to see, and there shouldn't be. Nor is he locked in the stocks in public square, so he obviously has some privacy left, although judging by your comment, you think he should be. That's really fucked up. Also, their had to be court proceedings in order for this to happen. The RIAA wants to be held to a lower standard than this.
Your "Well they're criminals, so fuck 'em!" attitude is really sad. It shows complete disrespect or total lack of understanding of some of the founding principles of the American criminal justice system, as well as general concepts of crime and punishment.
That attitude is them same one that got a lot of people burnt as witches. I could send you off to experience a justice system with fewer protections than ours.
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