Court Webcasts, Securing Your Internet Privacy
By Morelli
As we’ve reported, the Recording Industry opposes court webcasts of the file sharing lawsuit against Boston University student, Joel Tenenbaum. However, defense lawyer Charles R. Nesson told the US Court of appeals that an online webcast of the proceedings would be “an opportunity for the world to see what the recording industry is doing to [Joel].”
The trial is being considered a precedent for all piracy lawsuits, and could set the scenario for future prosecution of file sharers. Also, researchers at Northwestern University have found a new threat to privacy in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. To thwart this threat, they have released SwarmScreen, publicly available software that masks a user’s real download activity, to disrupt identification.
The public has a right to know how this issue is being resolved, and internet privacy is quickly becoming a thing of the past, as a recent European Union directive requires Internet service providers (ISPs) to store details of user e-mails and net phone calls for a year.
Judge Nancy Gertner approved webcasts of hearings in the case, and if the appeals court does not overrule her, the public would have access to the court hearing through a Harvard website and other media outlets. Are you interested in having access to the lawsuit? Is internet privacy a civil liberty, or is it the user’s responsibility to protect their information?
Photo via mccullagh.org
Source: Slashdot
