Friday 19 December 2008

RIAA Will No Longer Sue You For Illegal Downloading

The RIAA’s efforts to clamp down on illegal file-sharing by suing thousands of people has proved to be not only massively ineffective but also the worst kind of P.R. Now the org that represents the music biz is waving the white flag, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning.

The RIAA’s new approach will be based on agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers uploading tracks on P2Ps, WSJ’s Sarah McBride and Ethan Smith explained in the story. Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop.

If the file-sharing continues, they will get one or two more emails, possibly accompanied by reduced speeds from the ISP. Finally, the ISP may cut off their access altogether. Under the new strategy, the RIAA would no longer demand to know the customers' identity. The org said it has agreements in principle with some ISPs, but declined to name them.

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