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Anti-piracy lawyers are telling suspected pornography pirates that they’ll be contacting neighbours and family to “investigate” the downloads.
(Screenshot by CNET Australia)
TorrentFreak has uncovered a new tactic in the supposed war against piracy in the US: the threat of exposure.
According to the site, a legal entity calling itself the Anti-Piracy Law Group has sent letters to people suspected of pirating pornographic material that insinuates the group will be interviewing family and neighbours about the downloads:
The purpose of this step is to gather evidence about who used your internet account to steal from our client. The list of possible suspects includes you, members of your household, your neighbours (if you maintain an open Wi-Fi connection) and anyone who might have visited your house. In the coming days, we will contact these individuals to investigate whether they have any knowledge of the acts described in my client’s prior letter.
The extensive letter goes on to detail examples of people who have been fined large amounts for copyright infringement before offering this gently worded (but undeniably intimidating) suggestion that the accused make an out-of-court cash settlement:
At the end of the day, you have to decide whether you are better off settling this matter and putting it behind you, or if retaining an attorney and litigating this matter is in their best interest.
You can read the full two-page letter here. The signature at the end is that of Paul Duffy, previously associated with Prenda Law. Prenda and Duffy recently made news when a US court fined them US$80,000 for similar practices of demanding settlements from alleged porn pirates.
Judge Otis Wright, when handing down the judgment, called the tactic a “nexus of antiquated copyright laws, paralysing social stigma and unaffordable defence costs”.
