Pacific Bell's Internet arm sues music industry over file-sharer IDs

"The action taken by SBC Internet Services
is intended to protect the privacy of our customers," said SBC spokesman
Larry Meyer. "Misapplication of DMCA subpoena power raises serious
constitutional questions that need to be decided by the courts, not by
private companies which operate without duty of due diligence or judicial
oversight."

PBIS claims that more than 200 subpoenas seeking file-sharers' e-mail
addresses were issued from the wrong jurisdiction. And the recording
industry's demand for information on multiple file-sharers cannot be
grouped under one subpoena, and that the demands themselves are overly
broad, PBIS said.

In the complaint, PBIS maintains it acts only as a "passive conduit"
for the activity of its subscribers and "does not initiate or direct the
transmission of those files and has no control over their content or
destination."

The recording industry was quick to disagreed.

"We are disappointed that Pac Bell has chosen to fight this, unlike
every other ISP which has complied with their obligations under the law.
We had previously reached out to SBC to discuss this matter but had been
rebuked," an RIAA statement said.

"This procedural gamesmanship will not ultimately change the underlying
fact that when individuals engage in copyright infringement on the
Internet, they are not anonymous and service providers must reveal who
they are," the RIAA said.

San Francisco-based PBIS is seeking a declaration that the subpoenas
are overly broad in scope and should have been issued from a California
district court, not the District of Columbia. The complaint also seeks a
jury trial.

The RIAA said it expects to file several hundred lawsuits seeking
financial damages within the next two months. Verizon has challenged the
constitutionality of such copyright subpoenas. Arguments in the appeals
court are set for Sept. 16.