RIAA vs. Verizon ruling undermines Net privacy

Unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of the recording
association, setting a precedent that will enable copyright owners to
identify Internet users' real-life names, home addresses and phone
numbers. Verizon has appealed the ruling and will argue its case again
next month.

Privacy is destroyed because it has become
so easy to reveal the identity of Internet users. Now, a copyright holder
simply fills out a one-page form and a federal clerk immediately issues
the subpoena to the Internet service provider (Verizon Online, AOL, MSN,
etc.). The service provider must then release the name, home address and
phone number of that user. Internet service providers risk large penalties
if they even question the validity of the subpoena.

Perhaps the most dangerous consequence,
the ruling puts subpoena power in the hands of anyone willing to pretend
to have a copyright claim. Without a judge's review, these fraudulent
requests are impossible to distinguish from legitimate ones. This flood of
legally sanctioned harassment will quickly become the "New Spam," with the
kinds of abuses as limitless as the Internet itself:

A gay pornography Web site has already
issued subpoenas to SBC Communications to try to learn the identity of
visitors to the porn site. Other porn sites and gambling sites can track
down visitors and demand payment not to reveal the user's identity, all
under the pretext of enforcing the site's "copyright."

The most common use may be that of Web
site operators who want to identify their visitors for marketing purposes
or for more nefarious reasons, including identity theft, fraud or
stalking.

Private investigators will gain an
unstoppable way to turn any e-mail address into a person's name and street
address.