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Can RIAA Lawsuits be Blocked by Routers?
Chris Frank asks: "With the RIAA stepping up its pressure on internet sharers, what is the legal status of people behind apartment routers? With no logging of who is moving what who can the RIAA prosecute when it tracks a shared file back to that specific shared internet account? I would imagine that many Slashdot readers are behind routers that hold all of their internal IPs private to the outside world. Is the bill payer responsible for all of the users of that router? How can a person be held accountable for the actions of others, especially when there is no proof of who did what?"
Read your AUP for your ISP. That should tell you.
Objects in the blog are closer then they ap
Everytime you download an MP3 the RIAA kills a kitten.
Most ISPs Terms of Service agree that the payer is responsible for any data sent over the service. Many home ISPs also stipulate that the service is only for the use of the customer, and they cannot resell or give away the service.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
How can a person be held accountable for the actions of others, especially when there is no proof of who did what?
I'm not sure. Perhaps you should ask the people that crafted the RAVE Act.
I'm not sure if that will get you in hot water with the RIAA. Yes, you may be violating your user agreement with the ISP. Worst case, they drop you. But it still leaves open the question of who was doing the file trading. You may wind up without your broadband connection, but, without proof of who did the downloading, an RIAA suit wouldn't have much to go on.
In fact, it is possible that everyone behind the router could be file-sharing. As long as the cloud of doubt remains, though (and the router logs remain non-existant), the router owner shouldn't be on the hook for anything beyond violating the terms of service with their provider.
Of course, IANAL, so ignore all of that and buy all of your music for full price at Best Buy. Rat out your friends. Run Win XP. Choose a starter home. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage...
DMCA Section 202.512.(a)
A variation of this concept could be used to create a largely anonymous, secure network.
A - B - C - D
Assume that you are host B, and you VPN to host C, who happens to be in France (with you in the Canada). Host D also VPNs to the guy in france, but he never tells you who that guy is (he is careful to not even give any hints of that).
You allow host A to VPN to you, and A is someone you thought you could trust, in the USA. But he is only an RIAA narc. He connects to your network, and discovers that host D runs a large mp3 ftp server. But the narc on host A only knows your own public IP (which might as well be your identity, it will lead to it easily enough). You however, are outside of the jurisdiction of the USA. The RIAA won't be able to sic criminal prosecution on you, and even if they tried, you have a good chance of beating extradition "Your Honor, I only participate in an experimental hobbyist network". Besides which, they don't want you, but rather your computer or ISP's logs. The RIAA is big enough to try to prosecute this in civil court... but how can they force you to reveal the identity of host D, when you don't know it yourself?
And, the network could be made even larger, so that they might have to hop from host to host, forcing the revelation of the next hop's identity. How much would that cost them, and could host D vanish before they got close? Imagine not a chain of hosts, but a square mesh. Now, instead of just the 2 routes, you have 4 or 6... they can't even tell which of your routes is C, which is G or Z. So, at that point, even your ISP's logs aren't enough, they have to confiscate your computer.
I think the scheme is rather strong, but I'd happily take suggestions. Anyone(not in the USA) want to help me build it?