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Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
<blockquote cite="midNABBJOELMNGNJNGPKDDOCELHHAAA.tedm@ipinc.net"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Last I knew, malicious attacks over the network are illegal. If a hosting
authority was in charge of an IP block that an attack was originating
from and they refused to disclose who launched the attack, (if in the US)
the FBI would file charges against them. You bet I'd see them in court
just like any victim of any other kind of crime would see the perp in court.
</pre>
</blockquote>
If the FBI or another LEO of competent jurisdiction shows up with a
court order, I'll delightfully turn over the requested information. If
you (in the sense of "some other network operator," not you personally)
ask nicely, I may or may not provide you with information. If you start
making demands, I'll just get cranky.<br>
<br>
To the best of my knowledge, I'm not under any <i>legal</i> obligation
to publicly identify all my customers to the world. I'm under
obligation from ARIN to identify a few (the dozen or so that have eight
or more IP addresses allocated to them), but that's pretty much it.<br>
<blockquote cite="midNABBJOELMNGNJNGPKDDOCELHHAAA.tedm@ipinc.net"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">This is in fact exactly why the Motion Picture and Sound Association offers
ISP's immunity for prosecution in exchange for the ISP signing a contract
that allows them to get information about the ISP's customers who are downloading
or uploading pirated music. No ISP would sign such a thing if they didn't
have liability under the law.
</pre>
</blockquote>
Not necessarily.<br>
<br>
The RIAA has a history of making lawsuits with unreasonable demands
(suing college students for millions of dollars), then settling
out-of-court under slightly more reasonable terms. It's not too much of
a stretch to say the MPAA might possibly use similar tactics with ISPs.
They probably have a bigger budget, and better lawyers, than many ISPs.
I don't have any proof of this, having never been on the business end
of one of these suits, but it's quite plausible.<br>
<br>
David Smith<br>
MVN.net<br>
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