Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: P2P Liability On a Shared Connection?
An anonymous reader writes "I have a roommate that insists on using BitTorrent without taking any kind of precautions. He has an affinity for downloading material that is extremely popular and high-risk. He's received a warning from a well-known media giant in the past about his file sharing, but hasn't been sued. We've recently begun living in an apartment together (with one other person) and share our Internet connection and IP address. If his p2p activity leads to someone attempting to take legal action, could I be held liable? How would our accusers differentiate between our computers if we all share the same IP address? Would they just sue the lot of us?" Some lawyers would certainly like to get a look at everything on the other side of the connection. Has anyone out there faced legal problems as a result of someone else's use of your connection?
Run a Tor exit node and open up a guest wireless connection that anyone can use.
giggity
Well a psychologist will tell you that we remember things better when familiar cues are present. Our memory also fails under stress.
I have no problem remembering my long and complex encryption key by heart when I'm at my desk, relaxed, and typing it casually like I always do when I turn on my computer.
If I had to give that key anywhere else but at my desk, at home, or with people around me, or under any form of threat, I would most likely have trouble remembering the key. And any psychologist will testify that yes, I am most likely telling the truth when I say my memory is failing me due to stress or due to not having my familiar cues present when I attempt to recall the key - I even know people who can't remember an 8 character password made only of letters and numbers unless they're typing it on whatever website they're used to entering it (happens to me too actually).
And I'm not saying I will lie should I be asked to give my key. I'm just using my knowledge of psychology to make a (fairly obvious) prediction about events beyond my control.
Generally, there is a way to deal with this in a technological fashion:
Use a smart router and block all P2P sites. Let the people whom are doing the illegal file exchanging know that the sites are blocked... but VPNs are not, and point them to a P2P friendly VPS.
Problem solved -- These days, people should be using encrypting proxies for anything and everything they don't want to be personally accountable for anyway.
You do realize that it wouldn't happen like on TV, right?
(as a side note, I am ignoring the differences between criminal and civil here. Most of it applies to both sides.)
If they've seized your computer, there will be a subpoena compelling you to provide the correct password. It's not like you'll be held in an interrogation with a cop saying "give me the password or else [blah, blah, blah]". It'll be a long, drawn out process. You'll learn the wonderful world of the legal process. Subpoenas, depositions, countless hearings, motions, and eventually you'll actually end up in the court room to testify about stuff.
"I'm stressed, I can't remember it" might (but probably) won't work on day one. By the time you end up in front of a judge, claiming that you can't remember the same password that you had to type every day to unlock your computer, he'll laugh at you, and then you can learn about "contempt of court".
The only thing you should say is "I have nothing to say without my attorney present". When asked questions that are irrelevant or argumentative, your attorney will say so and advise you not to answer. All in all, the more you say is bad. Refusing to do something, like give a password, is bad. Saying "I can't remember" is bad. Asking your attorney "should I answer?" is good. You have legal counsel, because you are not an attorney. Even if you are, you are directly and emotionally involved. Your attorney doesn't really care, except he/she is paid to protect your interests.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.