James Delahunty
11 Jun 2007 15:44
TorrentSpy, a popular BitTorrent search engine, has been ordered to log the activities of its users. The order was made by federal Judge Jacqueline Chooljian on May 29th. Chooljian however, has granted a stay of the order on Friday to allow TorrentSpy to file an appeal. The appeal must be filed by June 12th according to TorrentSpy's attorney, Ira Rothken. TorrentSpy's privacy policy specifically states it does not log user activity.
"It is likely that TorrentSpy would turn off access to the U.S. before tracking its users," Rothken said. "If this order were allowed to stand, it would mean that Web sites can be required by discovery judges to track what their users do even if their privacy policy says otherwise." The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sued TorrentSpy back in February 2006, accusing it of, "making it easier to download pirated files."
According to Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), who called the ruling "unprecedented", the decision could have a chilling effect on e-commerce and digital entertainment sites. The EFF is currently reviewing the courts decision and von Lohmann said so far it is a "troubling court order."
"In general, a defendant is not required to create new records to hand over in discovery," von Lohmann said. "We shouldn't let Web site logging policies be set by litigation."
Source:
News.com