The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is sharpening its fetid claws as it prepares to do battle with BitTorrent sites.
Yes, the RIAA recently managed to obtain subpoenas from the U.S. District of Columbia ordering various providers to out the names of the individuals operating three sites: Monova.org, Bitsnoop.com and Limetorrents.com.
Although the RIAA previously contented itself with persecuting individual file-sharers and P2P-services, the bloated Association seems to have turned its Lidless Eye on Torrents.
“We believe your service is hosting the above-referenced website on its network. This website offers direct links to files containing sound recordings for other users to download by such artists as Lady Gaga, Micheal Jackson, Coldplay, Madonna and Kanye West,” the RIAA wrote in a letter to Whoisguard.com about one of the above-mentioned Torrents.
“As stated in the attached subpoena, you are required to disclose to the RIAA information sufficient to identify the infringer. This would include the individual’s IP-address and e-mail address.”
Unsurprisingly, the owner of Bitsnoop told TorrentFreak his site has always “responded swiftly” to the RIAA’s DMCA requests, despite loud claims to the contrary.
“The RIAA has sent us several DMCA requests in the past and we always honored these… Apparently that wasn’t enough, so now they pull this stunt.”
Although it remains unclear what the RIAA plans to do with the personal info of Torrent site operators, one can probably safely speculate a lawsuit filled with inflated requests for alleged damages isn’t all that far off.
