Verizon fights order to reveal file swapper's name

IDG News Service - Verizon Communications is seeking to block a court order that would reveal the name of an Internet subscriber suspected of sharing music online, the New York company said in an announcement yesterday.
A federal judge last week told Verizon Internet Services Inc. to turn over the name of an individual music downloader to the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA), the trade group for the largest music labels. Verizon is appealing that decision and has asked the court to stay the order, pending an appeal, the company said.
Verizon was sued by the RIAA after it refused to comply with a subpoena asking for the name of the subscriber, who used the Kazaa peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing service. The music industry says online sharing of music hurts music sales, comparing it to stealing. In separate legal action, the RIAA is pursuing Kazaa and other P2P services.
Verizon said it isn't trying to shield customers who break copyright laws but wants to halt the court order pending appeal to give the appeals court time to review the "statutory and constitutional issues" raised by this case.
The recording industry brought the suit as a test case, according to Verizon. If the ruling stands, consumers will be caught in a "digital dragnet," not only from recording companies alleging copyright infringement, but from anyone who can fill out a simple form, said John Thorne, a Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel.
The RIAA subpoena was issued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Verizon argued that the subpoena doesn't address Internet service providers, because the copyright-protected material isn't stored on any of its computers, but on the customer's local hard disk drive.
Several privacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, have sided with Verizon in the case.

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