Rights Groups Support Effort to Quash Subpoenas to ID Internet Users

by Janette Spencer-Davis, Legal Editor, CCH Copyright Law Reports   

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and the Pubic Citizen Litigation Group filed "friend-of-the-court" briefs on June 3 in support of a motion by Time Warner Cable to quash subpoenas seeking the names and contact information of thousands of Internet users alleged to have illegally downloaded copyrighted movies on file-sharing websites. The subpoenas were issued to the users' Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by a Washington, D.C.-based law firm working with independent film producers and studios. The firm has filed seven lawsuits in the District of Columbia, implicating more than 14,000 individuals.

In their briefs, the consumer rights groups argued that the subpoenas improperly join thousands of unrelated defendants without giving each defendant a chance to fight the accusations. This, they contend, could result in "innocent people getting tangled up in a dragnet." While the groups conceded that members of the movie industry have the right to challenge alleged copyright infringement, they argued that the industry must do so in a way that upholds the law and the individuals' due process rights. The briefs are available online at: www.aclu.org/ free-speech-technology-and-liberty/amicus-briefs-support-time-warner-motion-quash-subpoenas.