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AT&T, Comcast To Join RIAA Team
suraj.sun writes "AT&T and Comcast, two of the nation's largest Internet service providers, are expected to be among a group of ISPs that will cooperate with the music industry in battling illegal file sharing, three sources close to the companies told CNET News. The RIAA said last month that it had enlisted the help of ISPs as part of a new antipiracy campaign. The RIAA has declined to identify which ISPs or how many. It's important to note that none of the half dozen or so ISPs involved has signed agreements. But as it stands, AT&T and Comcast are among the companies that have indicated they wish to participate in what the RIAA calls a 'graduated response program.'"
So in reading some of those articles - the only one written by a police like agency "police chief magazine" says that the only law (in Ontario) is that meter technicians are supposed to report if a residence has tampered with the meter, bypassed the junction or wired lights directly into the mains.
Another article wants to make it legal for power companies to shut off suspected growers, but there's controversy in that they don't think the power companies should play the role of the police (which is what the riaa is doing).
The only sites that claim that the power companies actively report spikes in usage are sites that tell you how to setup your own grow operation.
One site said in Florida the police will under warrant ask the utility company for a history of power usage in a suspected operation.
I didn't find anything credible or official that says the power company has some filter or auditor on their billing system to flag this info.