Grandmother Takes On The RIAA; Won't Pay For Grandson's Actions
from the prove-it dept
We've tried to highlight this in the past, but not many people are discussing one of the major problems with the RIAA's sue-by-IP address approach. An IP address doesn't tell you who was actually using the computer and set up a file sharing network to share unauthorized files. Now, one grandmother is fighting back against the RIAA for that very reason. Her grandson used file sharing networks, but she's the one who gets in trouble for it. AOL cut off her internet access and the RIAA plans to file a lawsuit against her, but have made her the same generous offer they make to everyone: pay up $3,500 and they'll leave her alone. However, this grandmother will have no part of it. She says that, first of all, she doesn't have the money, and it's not fair to hold her responsible for her grandson's actions. In fact, she had already gotten him to stop downloading songs, but no one realized that the file sharing system was still running in the background. Still, it does highlight the fact that the RIAA's tactic of simply suing by IP address means they're going after people who didn't actually break the law.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
hey
[ link to this | view in chronology ]