Anti-Piracy Company Breaches Privacy, Ordered to Shut Down
Written by enigmax on January 23, 2008The infamous anti-piracy tracking outfit Logistep has been criticized by the data protection commissioner in Switzerland for helping to breach the privacy of people on file-sharing networks. Logistep, who track file-sharers all over Europe, has 30 days to stop collecting data, or face further action.
Swiss based anti-piracy company Logistep gathers information about alleged file-sharers from all over Europe, and sells it to copyright holders who want to make a business out of threatening legal action against file-sharers, in order to get cash ‘compensation’.
Currently there are hundreds of people in the UK being threatened due to the data Logistep gathered for the Two Worlds, Dream Pinball 3D and Colin McRae cases. Having heard nothing for 12 months after receiving their initial threats through the post, people accused of sharing the pinball game are now being threatened again - and some are getting more worried that this isn’t going to go away. Or is it?
We mentioned in a previous article how P2P tracking companies are seen by some to be breaching privacy laws. It seems Logistep has come to the attention of the data protection commissioner in Switzerland (EDÖB -Eidgenössische Datenschutz- und Öffentlichkeitsbeauftragte). He believes there is a problem with Logistep handling personal data, when it’s far from clear that the person being spied on has even committed an offense.
TorrentFreak spoke to Christian Solmecke, a lawyer defending five hundred file sharers in Germany, for more details. He told us: “In my eyes we have a similar problem here in Germany. The data protection commissioner is of the opinion, that collecting data (which is against telecommunications secrecy laws in Switzerland) is only allowed in the context of a criminal prosecution and not in private [civil] law.”
Lawyers Davenport Lyons acting for the copyright holders in the UK show the court ‘evidence’ from Logistep, saying they need it for a criminal case, so that they can obtain a court order. Once they have the order to force the ISP to hand over the alleged file-sharer’s personal details, they pursue a purely civil action to get compensation.
So what happens next? Christian told us: “The EDÖB suggests that Logistep should stop collecting data about P2P users. Logistep now has 30 days to comply, otherwise the EDÖB will bring the case to the Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland.”
Adding further momentum to the IP address/privacy issue, the European Union’s data privacy regulators said on Monday that IP addresses should be considered personal data. Germany’s data protection commissioner, Peter Scharr, told a European Parliament hearing on data protection that when an individual is identified by his IP address “then it has to be regarded as personal data.”
A court in the UK would no doubt be interested in the questionable legality surrounding the data harvesting carried out by Logistep, should a UK file-sharer in these cases ever see a court room. Up to now, there’s not been much more activity, other than threatening letters. However, Davenport Lyons has implied it gained a court ‘victory’ on December 17th following ‘Final Warning’ letters it sent to people in the ‘pinball’ case recently. However, this appears to be a ‘victory’ against someone who just didn’t bother to turn up in court. Some precedent.
Christian Solmecke works as a lawyer in Germany at the Cologne Chambers of Lawyers Wilde & Beuger.
Previously: aXXo’s Pirated Movies Used to Promote the iMac
Next: Comcast’s BitTorrent Throttling Acceptable? Not Quite!
45 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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Idiots
I quote #1
go to hell p2p haters.
What’s the news? Anti-piracy invades peoples privacy. All the same.
Luckily for me, no one else than the police and my ISP have the right to monitor my connection. Gotta love it :D
wont they just move to US and continue?
stupid anti pirate faggots
mayra! mga buang man siguro mong taga Logistep…
God Bless the Swiss!
Ditto No. 1
More good news from Germany:
A court decided that it’s a violation of § 406e II, V StPO if the Staatsanwaltschaft (Public Prosecution Service) hands the personal data of accused/defendants to the civil laywers of the music industry. If this court ruling persists and gets applied in whole germany it’s bye, bye Logistep. Interesting point: There was an error in the IP used to identify the accused, thus she wasn’t guilty for sure, but the court nevertheless stated that it’s illegal to hand over the data anyway (i.e. even if no error occurs during the investigation).
German link:
http://www.telemedicus.info/article/606-Amtsgericht-urteilt-gegen-Abmahnpraxis-der-Musikindustrie.html
Say no to police state! Say no to new 1984!
Looks like that some people are starting to make sense, that`s a very good news.
It’s one law for the “p2p pirates” and another for these organisations…
What they are doing is illegal, not sharing music! there is very limited evidence it even damages the industry anyway. They have no respect for privacy or decency and they’ll do anything legal or illegal for a few extra bucks in their already bulging wallets.
I Hope they burn in hell!
Pwnt Toasted.
im convinced that the people davenpor has taken to court are on there payroll somewhere along the line,makes buisness sense,considering the money they could amass from people getting there letters
Thanks for the good news ! :)
Good.. Now only if MediaDefender went down the hard way lol..
we have won the battle AND are winning the war!
I quote #2
I don’t understand how this wasn’t considered illegal long ago.
No-one should be able to spy and collect data on an I.P address. It’s obviously a breach of privacy laws.
Wold #1
This year is becoming better and better!
I sense the Force is strong in this one :)
sometimes i love my country :)
ROTFLMAO TAKE THAT FUCKERS!!!!!!
To stop sharing on the internets the internets must be shut down, and that would take …we`ll, a world war or a major natural disaster. We are in a transition stage, the reordering of society. Let the dinosaurs die in peace. Sure, a “dinosaur” can bite, but up against a swarm of information hungry micro organisms growing in numbers like fire on dry grass they are nothing but food. Welcome to the dawning of the information age! (..and please, could the dinos put the fake teeth back in the glass and go back to sleep.)
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