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| July 31, 2003 | |||||||||
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COLEMAN CONCERNED RECORDING INDUSTRY'S RUBBER-STAMP SUBPOENAS INADVERTENTLY TARGET UNWARY CONSUMERS
“Law of unintended consequences” may be needlessly threatening American citizens |
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WASHINGTON—Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) today began an inquiry into the tactics being employed by the Recording Industry Association of America in a crackdown on illegal file sharing that may be inadvertently targeting thousands of Americans.
Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a Chairman’s Letter to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today requesting a series of answers from the industry on the details of more than 900 subpoenas that have been issued in its efforts to combat illegal file sharing. “The industry has legitimate concerns about copyright infringement,” said Coleman. “We are dealing with stealing recording artists’ songs and the industry’s profits. The industry has every right to develop practical remedies for protecting its rights. Yet, the industry seems to have adopted a “shotgun” approach that could potentially cause injury and harm to innocent people who may have simply been victims of circumstance, or possessing a lack of knowledge of the rules related to digital sharing of files. I am sure it is not the industry’s intent to needlessly cause harm in its efforts to legally protect its rights. Indeed, the law of unintended consequences may be at work in this matter.” Coleman expressed concern that the RIAA may be in danger of abusing the broad-based subpoena authority it was granted to determine the extent of illegal file sharing in the United States and that its tactics may be creating anxiety and concern among many Americans who are innocent or unknowingly guilty of violating copyright infringement laws. “The RIAA subpoenas have snared unsuspecting grandparents whose grandchildren have used their personal computers, individuals whose roommates have shared their computers, as well as colleges and universities across the United States like Boston College, DePaul University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” said Coleman. “Individuals like Fresno, California grandfather, Bob Barnes, are not immune from devastating financial losses. Mr. Barnes is facing $45 million in penalties for downloading some of his “oldie” favorites.” Coleman also contends in his letter that the barrage of RIAA subpoenas is creating such a backlog at the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, that the Court has been forced to reassign clerks to process the paperwork. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the D.C. District Courthouse is “functioning more like a clearing house, issuing subpoenas for all over the country.” In his “Chairman’s Letter” to RIAA, Coleman requested the following information by no later than August 14th. 1) Copies of all subpoenas issued to Internet Service Providers (ISP) requesting information about subscribers 2) A description of the standard that RIAA is using when filing an application for a subpoena against an ISP with a U.S. District Court 3) A description of the methodology RIAA is using to secure evidence of potentially illegal file sharing by computer users. 4) A description of the privacy safeguards RIAA is using when securing this information in an effort to prevent unfair targeting of de minimus users 5) A description of how RIAA is protecting the rights of individuals from erroneous subpoenas. Coleman made it clear to industry officials that he supports their efforts to protect their legal rights, but believes that other, less intrusive and potentially destructive methods could be employed. “As you may know, I have an abiding interest in protecting the privacy rights of individuals. Clearly, I do not condone illegal activity, however I am confident that there may be a more circumspect and narrowly tailored method that RIAA could utilize to prevent substantial illegal file sharing. As a former prosecutor, I know first hand the power of a subpoena and I am concerned about the potential for abuse in the current system.” FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Steward (202) 224-2995 |
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