Dutch ISP Gives Up, Hands Over Names Of Suspected File Sharer

from the did-they-satisfy-the-conditions? dept

Over in the Netherlands, there’s been an ongoing legal battle over whether or not ISPs are required to hand over the names of suspected file sharers. Last year, the courts determined that it was a violation of local privacy laws to hand over the names. However, a recent case set specific terms on when it could be okay to hand over the names: the copyright holders (in this case the entertainment industry) need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that illegal file sharing took place and that the person who is named on the account associated with the IP address was likely the person doing the file sharing. In this particular case, the entertainment industry group (funded, in part, by both the RIAA and MPAA) has seized a server that was used for file sharing, and claimed they could show the specific user, including an email address associated with that user. With that much evidence, the ISP has decided it’s not worth fighting and has handed over the name. So, at least that explains how the industry was able to prove those two points — though, some might argue that the user’s email still might not be connected to the owner of the account whose IP address was being used.


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Comments on “Dutch ISP Gives Up, Hands Over Names Of Suspected File Sharer”

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15 Comments
Yo ho ho... says:

Hmmm....

I’m not sure what is worse:

The precedent set by the ISP in handing over ther name

– or –

The general stupidity of the person in giving out their real/primary email address when file-sharing

Either way, at least it is not a case that is easily replicable for future RIAA cases — unlesses everyone who shares files now acts like a dumbass too…

Of course, the last tidbit is the biggest point — an email address doesn’t prove that the individual associated with that account is the one who actually performed the act.

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