Attacking ISPs As A Proxy In Your Legal Fight... Part II
from the seems-popular dept
We just posted a story about the recording industry turning its legal guns towards ISPs, and it seems like that's an increasingly popular tactic of anyone who doesn't like something that's online. Rather than going after those actually responsible, scare the ISP into taking people offline. That appears to be what happened to a site in the UK that was trying to post anti-scam info. It seems that one of the companies the site discussed didn't like being on the site and, rather than going after the guy directly, convinced his web hosting firm to pull the plug. In this case, the guy who runs the site says he has no problem defending the content in court, where he believes he'll be vindicated, but he can't even get the content online thanks to the legal nastygrams. While this case is in the UK, US ISPs are supposed to be protected against such things by the DMCA -- but there is still a system for doing takedown notices which are almost as effective in many cases.
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
Thats horrible
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Common enough in the US...
I think it's illegal, but it's also effective. Most ISPs will cave immediately.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Does anyone remember the good old days?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Does anyone remember the good old days?
btw, remember michael abrash?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
Example: You're staying at a hotel for a week. After the first night, the manager refunds your money and kicks you out. You might have some legal recourse, but if you don't leave, then the hotel can have you arrested for trespass ... even if you did nothing at all wrong.
This has ALWAYS been the case (at least here in the States).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
He can get it on-line...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]