RIAA To Target ISPs Next?
Steve's Jobs Could Have Conflicts Of Interest

Attacking ISPs As A Proxy In Your Legal Fight... Part II

Legal Issues

from the seems-popular dept

Mon, Jan 23rd 2006 12:17pm — Mike Masnick
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.
6 Comments

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  • identicon
    John, 23 Jan 2006 @ 1:09pm

    Thats horrible

    It's wrong, what if they get cut off for something they didn't actualy do?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Xanthir, 23 Jan 2006 @ 2:13pm

    Common enough in the US...

    This sort of thing happens all the time in the US as well. Some lawyer sends off a threatening letter to the ISP, the ISP drops the site just to avoid any trouble.

    I think it's illegal, but it's also effective. Most ISPs will cave immediately.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Graphicsguy, 23 Jan 2006 @ 2:25pm

    Does anyone remember the good old days?

    Ya know where we actually had freedom of speech, and the government didn't know EVERYTHING I was searching for. Thank god we finally got a president in office that took all those pesky rights and freedoms away from us.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 23 Jan 2006 @ 3:12pm

      Re: Does anyone remember the good old days?

      lol @ graphicsguy

      btw, remember michael abrash?

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Hutch, 23 Jan 2006 @ 3:02pm

    No Subject Given

    Piffle. This is the same as a business saying, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." Now, there are indeed limits to that right, but the only remedy is through the courts.

    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 ]

  • identicon
    Andrew Strasser, 23 Jan 2006 @ 8:46pm

    He can get it on-line...

    Post it on a South Korean Server and they'll never take it down... hehe

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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