[LINK] RIAA pays price; new US attempt at net image control and ISP tracking

[Jan Whitaker]

Just stumbled across this on someone's blog:

 From bna.com's newsletter

RIAA ORDERED TO PAY FEES IN FAILED FILE SHARING SUIT
Debbie Foster, a single mom who was improperly sued by the RIAA back 
in 2004 for file sharing, has won back her attorneys' fees. The 
decision today is one of the first in the country to award attorneys 
fees to a defendant in an RIAA case over music sharing on the Internet.
<http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005114.php>

ISP TRACKING LEGISLATION REINTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
All Internet service providers would have to keep track of what their 
customers are doing online to aid police in future investigations 
under legislation introduced Tuesday as part of a Republican "law and 
order agenda." Employees of any Internet provider who fail to store 
that information will face fines and prison terms of up to one year, 
the bill says. The U.S. Justice Department could order the companies 
to store those records forever.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6156948.html

PROPOSED SENATE BILL WOULD CREATE DATABASE OF ILLEGAL IMAGES
A forthcoming bill in the U.S. Senate lays the groundwork for a 
national database of illegal images that Internet service providers 
would use to automatically flag and report suspicious content to 
police. The proposal, which Sen. John McCain is planning to introduce 
today, also would require ISPs and perhaps some Web sites to alert 
the government of any illegal images of real or "cartoon" minors. 
Failure to do would be punished by criminal penalties including fines 
of up to $300,000.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6156976.html


Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
commentary: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/

'Seed planting is often the most important step. Without the seed, 
there is no plant.' - JW, April 2005
_ __________________ _