Recording industry to begin Collecting evidence and preparing lawsuits against file sharers who illegally offer music online

This morning I had an in-depth conversation with a man who would like to remain anonymous regarding the actions that will be taken to stomp out worldwide piracy by the recording industry of America. We discussed the future of safe computing and what that means for the average p2p user. He sent me an email containing several documents about how the RIAA and friends plan on dismantling large scale p2p file trading. The following is a sample of what he sent.

For those of you that don’t know, the RIAA has won the right to identify users who share copyrighted material on networks such as KaZaA. Watching the Watcher, which aims to root out potential terrorists by aggregating credit-card, travel, medical, school and other records of everyone in the United States is a great read for more information on what the government is up to. Peer2Politics: House Subcommittee meeting on P2P piracy, this bill allows media companies to “use limited self-help measures” to prevent unlawful piracy of their works. File-sharing users are more vulnerable than one may think, L.A. Times says… Read on how most users that download music are less secure then the average Windows web server. File Traders in Court – A Running Tally, get an update on all those suckers who got busted. Indie ISPs Fight for Survival, If they don’t fight for their right to exist, independent ISPs soon will be replaced by huge cable television and telephone companies supported by misguided FCC regulations. Even artists are joining the P2P revolution, Janis Ian doesn’t like RIAA/Verizon decision. Janis should be next in line for a Zeropaid.com File Sharing Soldier t-shirt!. Manufacturers, blank CD makers, ISPs and software firms such as Kazaa will pool funds and pay artists directly, is this the answer? target=_blank>The RIAA boycott is on!!!

Taken from the email:
WHAT: Starting tomorrow the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will begin gathering evidence and preparing lawsuits against individual computer users who are illegally offering to “share” large amounts of copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks.

WHY: Stealing music over the Internet is no different than shoplifting CDs out of a record store. It’s wrong, and it’s against the law. It’s also a very public activity — meaning that offenders can easily be identified. There are many legal and inexpensive alternatives to obtain music on the Internet.

WHEN: Starting tomorrow, Thursday (June 26th), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will begin gathering evidence and preparing lawsuits against individual computer users who are illegally offering large amounts of copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks. The RIAA expects to use the data it collects as the basis for filing what could ultimately be thousands of lawsuits charging individual peer-to-peer music distributors with copyright infringement. The first round of suits could take place as early as mid-August.

WHO: The recording industry will be filing the lawsuits, with the support of a broad coalition of music community leaders.

THE MESSAGE: The law is clear and the message to those who are distributing substantial quantities of music online should be equally clear: — this activity is illegal, you are not anonymous when you do it, and engaging in it can have real consequences. There are many legal and inexpensive alternatives to obtain music on the internet.

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