Anti-Piracy Company Illegally Spied on P2P Users
Written by enigmax on March 17, 2008The organization responsible for privacy protection in Italy has declared that Logistep has been operating illegally. The Garante della Privacy says that the anti-piracy company breached the privacy of thousands of P2P users when it tracked and reported them to media companies. It has 14 days to cease and desist.
Right across Europe, Swiss anti-piracy tracking outfit Logistep has been gathering information about alleged file-sharers and selling it to copyright holders. They then use the information to make a business out of threatening legal action against file-sharers in order to get cash ‘compensation’.
Currently there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of people in the UK being threatened due to the data Logistep gathered for the Two Worlds, Dream Pinball 3D and Colin McRae cases. Across Europe, Logistep has tracked tens of thousands of P2P users, hammering Germany and Italy in particular.
In January 2008, on the back of a European Union statement that IP addresses should be regarded as personal data, it was declared that Logistep breached Swiss privacy laws when it spied on P2P users. It was ordered to stop collecting data about them.
Now, in what could be the beginning of the end for Logistep, the ‘Garante della Privacy’ - the Italian organization for data protection and privacy - has declared that Logistep has been acting illegally by spying on P2P users without their permission. In summary, the decision is based on the following points, all related to privacy breaches:
1. It is illegal for a private company such as Logistep to monitor the activities of P2P users on the Internet.
2. The use of P2P software is limited to communication with other P2P clients for the purposes of sharing files. Such software cannot be used for monitoring P2P users.
3. It is illegal to monitor users without their permission. None was requested, nor granted.
In conclusion, the Garante della Privacy has ordered Logistep to delete the data they collected about Italian P2P users by 31st March 2008, as it was gathered illegally.
This news will come as a huge relief for Italian P2P users as they have been aggressively targeted by Logistep. Many thousands of users received threatening letters demanding payments for up to 400 Euros, some of them for sharing a single song.
Now that it’s been decided that Logistep itself was committing the offenses (in many locales, data protection offenses are criminal in nature), it will remain to be seen if people have any chance of getting their payments back, or intend to take legal action themselves against Logistep for a breach of their privacy.
Those affected by this on-going saga in Germany and the UK will take encouragement from this decision. One guy involved in the UK Dream Pinball 3D case told TorrentFreak: “There is no way I’m paying now, 100%. Two countries have said that Logistep are breaching privacy laws so i’m going to take my chances. See you in court boys!”
Previously: LimeWire Store Opens for Business
Next: Ron Jeremy Takes on Porn Pirates
69 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
woww im 1337th to comment
Great news. I hope this causes a few headaches (and maybe even job losses) at Davenport Lyons.
Can’t Pay Won’t Pay!
2. The use of P2P software is limited to communication with other P2P clients for the purposes of sharing files. Such software cannot be used for monitoring P2P users.
Ain’t that a bitch, mmmm?
[quote comment="313273"]I am Swiss myself, I share LOTS of files over P2P and I never got anything for it. Maybe Logistep doesn’t even “care” about Switzerland itself, but is more interested in getting money in other [quote comment="313307"]@6 Well yeah Switzerland’s population is tiny compared to some of the other country’s around Europe. Anyways this is just extortion plain and simple. Actually it’s the worst kind of extortion. “Legal” blackmail. Greedy bastards![/quote]
Countries.[/quote]
It’s more a case of: Don’t bite the hand that houses your operation and turns a blind eye while you’re doing something really illegal within their borders..
If Swiss citizens were to rebuke them in sufficient numbers, their operation wouldn’t have earned as much money as it obviously has suing extra national citizens. I’m willing to bet they knew this would happen eventually, and were vacuuming cash as fast as they could, heretofore.
[quote comment="313759"][quote comment="313446"]No sir, I didn’t steal your car…[/quote]
…because you still have it. And the fact that I somehow possess an identical one now is none of you business.
So you, pal, have failed miserably. As expected.[/quote]
the thing is,using p2p is just like transporting choped up car parts. It can be car parts that originated from the junk-yard(copyleft) or from chopshop that is cutting up stolen car parts(copyrighted). and unless **AA knows where u got those parts,and follows u back to ur garrage to find out what exectly u r up to,etiher re-assembling a stolen car,or re-assembling parts u gathered from the junk yard into some project(which they need warrant to do so). Just b’cos they saw u hauling car-parts doesnt mean thay can:
A)stop u from using the road.
B)find u guilty of car theft.
c)compensate thier client thet had “allegedly” lost a car
unless the got a warrant to go into ur garrage to see what’s u r doing with those parts….then and until then….
[quote comment="313450"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=WO42s0r2LNU[/quote]
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM!!!
Another set back for the Nazis !!
Hands up those who don’t want Europe to turn into America ?
nobody want yours to turn into shitty low cost nazi america’s pain in the ass. and nobody want to pay the shit produced there.
[quote comment="314018"]that is cutting up stolen car parts(copyrighted)[/quote]
Shared copyrighted materials are still not in any manner stolen. Sharing != theft. Filesharing isn’t a crime, no matter what you share.
Are you all stupid? It is not about p2p.
It is about websites streaming porn movies. Some with small clips for free and with paid subscribtion for better quality content that they do not own.
It is way past p2p and about people making money from other peoples content.
[quote comment="315885"]Are you all stupid? It is not about p2p.
It is about websites streaming porn movies. Some with small clips for free and with paid subscribtion for better quality content that they do not own.
It is way past p2p and about people making money from other peoples content.[/quote]
are you stupid ? the original post is about P2P not about streamed porn movies.
That’s so straight.
so if this was illegal for them to attain our info this way, why are we still reciving letters demanding money for two worlds?
just recieved my second letter reguarding this.
5 references to this post
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
Add your response