Subpoena requests are public documents, but unfortunately court procedures to release them are at best tedious, at worst costly. The district court does provide online copies of all incoming RIAA subpoena requests, but only after a user applies for an account and waits at least seven days for a password to be snail mailed to them. Furthermore, there is a charge for each accessed document.
With more than 900 outstanding subpoena requests, obtaining copies is prohibitively expensive.
The Electronic Freedom Foundation, a public interest advocacy group based in San Francisco, has told several news sources, including USA Today, that it is working to obtain copies of all subpoena requests and establishing an online database of user names that are being targeted.
The list is expected to be on the EFF website at www.eff.org by the end of the month.
ISP’s have already received several subpoenas, and most will respond by providing the RIAA with the name(s) on the account, the mailing address at which service is located, and the telephone number on file with the ISP. The ISP will also notify the customer that this information has been provided to the RIAA. Many will also advise the customer to consult an attorney to prepare for possible legal action.
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