Group Raises Concerns on Anti-Piracy Moves

Criticism of the recording industry’s anti-piracy campaign increased as a high-tech trade association said it was worried that its members could be forced to police the Internet for illegal song copying.

NetCoalition, which represents hundreds of small Internet providers as well as larger firms such as Yahoo Inc. and DoubleClick Inc., said it sent a letter to the Recording Industry Assn. of America asking pointed questions about the RIAA’s campaign to track down and sue thousands of Internet users who copy songs without permission.

A RIAA spokesperson said the trade group would be happy to meet with NetCoalition to discuss its concerns and dispel some of the “gross inaccuracies” contained in the letter, but did not elaborate.

The letter comes as the RIAA faces a growing backlash from those who worry that the industry is overreaching in its efforts to stop the trading of its copyrighted songs over “peer to peer” networks such as Kazaa.

Last week a U.S. judge ruled that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology did not have to reveal the names of suspected song copiers because the subpoenas were filed in Washington, not in a regional court. The RIAA said it would file the subpoenas again in the proper venue.

From Reuters