File swapper fights RIAA subpoena
By John Borland for CNET News.com

An anonymous California computer user went to court Thursday to challenge the recording industry’s file-trading subpoenas, charging that they are unconstitutional and violate her right to privacy.
The legal motion, filed in Washington, D.C., federal court by a “Jane Doe” Internet service subscriber, is the first from an individual whose personal information has been subpoenaed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in recent months…
The motion was filed by a pair of Sacramento, Calif., attorneys, who said the RIAA had gone too far in its effort to protect its online copyrights.
“This is more invasive than someone having secret access to the library books you check out or the videos you rent,” said Glenn Peterson, one of the attorneys, in a statement. “The recent efforts of the music industry to root out piracy have addressed a uniquely contemporary problem with Draconian methods–good old fashioned intimidation combined with access to personal information that would make George Orwell blush.”
The “Jane Doe” motion comes as the first individual legal response to the RIAA’s effort to sue large numbers of file swappers. It follows similar legal challenges from several ISPs and colleges, including Pacific Bell Internet Services, an SBC Communications subsidiary…
Critics of the unconventional subpoena process have noted that individuals whose information has been sought in other subpoena processes, such as potential libel cases, are given the legal opportunity to challenge the request for their personal information, however.

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Senator to hold hearings on recording industry’s piracy crackdown
By Frederic Frommer for the Associated Press.

A Senate panel will hold hearings on the recording industry’s crackdown against online music swappers, the chairman said Thursday.
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., made the announcement in a letter to the Recording Industry Association of America. He had received information he had requested from the group about the campaign, which Coleman has called excessive…
The association announced plans in June to file several hundred lawsuits against people suspected of illegally sharing songs on the Internet. Copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song…
Coleman said he is concerned the campaign could ensnare innocent people, such as parents and grandparents whose computers are being used to download music by their children and grandchildren. He also said that some downloaders themselves might not know they are breaking the law.
Coleman has admitted that he used to download music from Napster, the file-sharing service that a federal judge shut down for violating music copyrights.
He wrote that as subcommittee chairman, he intends “to assist in the development of remedies that will be reasonable and narrowly tailored to fit the extent of infringement.”
…Last month, Coleman asked the industry association to furnish him with a list of its subpoenas; its safeguards against invading privacy and making erroneous subpoenas; its standards for issuing subpoenas; and a description of how it collects evidence of illegal file sharing.

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Wendy vs. Howard Berman on CNN’s Next@CNN, August 9, 2003.

Next@CNN – Criminal Intent – Complete (Small – 21 MB)

Next@CNN – Criminal Intent – Part 1 of 2 (Small – 10 MB)

Next@CNN – Criminal Intent – Part 2 of 2 (Small – 11 MB)