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MediaSentry Defied Michigan Investigation For Months
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "You may recall that MediaSentry, the RIAA's unlicensed investigator, has been the subject of an investigation by Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth for its conduct of investigations without an investigator's license, an investigation in which it has made contradictory and false statements to the government's investigators. Well apparently this didn't deter MediaSentry from simply continuing its practice of conducting 'investigations' without a license. In Michigan, no less. We have learned from court papers (PDF) filed in Michigan that the practice continued for months after the DLEG had begun questioning the practice."
What's the penalty for this kind of thing, in terms of the company and individuals? I hope there's some personal liability in there somewhere.
I believe the criminal penalties max out at $5,000 and two years. Multiply that by the number of incidents and it could be some money, but I doubt anyone will go to jail. The civil liabilities, however, might rack up some additional costs if all the people they testify against sue them and the RIAA for court fees and damages resulting from their illegal investigation.
Remember the private investigators who got hired by HP's Dunn to spy on board members to try and find who was leaking stuff to the press? The PIs who used social engineering/pretexting to illegally obtain cellphone records from the phone companies? Remember what happened to those PIs? Yup, nothing. That's what will happen here.
They haven't had any injunctions against them or any court orders to stop... so why would they quit? They may be a scummy company, but I can't really blame them for not stopping when they're just being investigated, but no one is forcing them to stop. However, my hope is that the investigation will make them have to pay fines for each infraction, and that any evidence found in every single case they help with will be thrown out.
They weren't exactly ordered to stop but they were gently reminded on February 22nd.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
They are 2 different companies. This is actually a pretty good read Worth the time.
Slashdot is too nerdy for me.
Just so people are aware, MediaSentry is owned by a greater company, SafeNet. SafeNet controls their operations and is headquartered in Belcamp, MD (1/2 mile from me, as it turns out).
Actually SafeNet is MediaSentry; MediaSentry just changed its name to SafeNet.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
I wasn't lying; I just made the mistake of relying upon RIAA/Safenet/MediaSentry's court papers which refer to Safenet and say "formerly known as MediaSentry". In reexamining them, I note that in at least one of those documents (PDF) the phrase "formerly known as" could be read to be modifying Safenet, or it could be read to be modifying just "the MediaSentry product development unit of Safenet". So if it is so that MediaSentry was acquired by Safenet I apologize and stand corrected.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
MediaSentry refers to itself in court papers as "SafeNet, Inc, f/k/a MediaSentry, Inc.", which would connote a name change. See, e.g., the March 17, 2008, letter by Thomas Mullaney published here. So I didn't "lie", I merely took MediaSentry/Safenet's attorney at his word. So please do not be so quick to accuse me of lying. I do not lie.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful