San Francisco - Ninety-five organizations, ranging across
the political spectrum, today sent letters to the chairs of
the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees and the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to thank them for planning
hearings on the subpoena provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (DMCA).

The organizations expressed their concern that these
subpoenas, such as the ones filed by the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA), invade the privacy of Internet users without due
process of law.

The letter points out that the RIAA or any copyright holder
can violate the privacy of Internet users by demanding that their ISPs
disclose personally identifying information, including name, address,
and telephone number, without providing any reasonable proof of
wrongdoing to a court.

Signatories to the letters represent a broad, bipartisan coalition of
organizations and ISPs that have joined forces to oppose the ruling,
including groups as diverse as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the
American Civil Liberties Union, the Grange, leading domestic violence
and child protective organizations, and nearly every major ISP in the
country.

Links:

• The letters online
• EFF Let the Music Play
  Campaign
• How Not to Get Sued by the RIAA

Contact:

Wendy Seltzer

  Staff Attorney

  Electronic Frontier Foundation

  wendy@eff.org