Verizon as official RIAA copyright cop?
p2pnet news view | RIAA:- It’s now routine for Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music’s RIAA to use taxpayer- and fee-funded schools across America for marketing and copyright extortion, with staff and administrators acting as unpaid help.
However, it’s moved its activities up one significant notch.
“Verizon, the second-largest phone company in the US, is expected to begin issuing RIAA ‘copyright notices’ to customers accused of illegally downloading songs, “according to sources with knowledge of the agreement,” says CNet News.
“The sources, who asked for anonymity, said Verizon’s letter campaign is part of a test, which is expected to begin on Thursday,” says the story going on:
“Jonathan Lamy (right), an RIAA spokesman, confirmed the existence of the test but declined further comment.”
The RIAA has for years been persecuting innocent men and women, and even young children, accusing them of being criminals who ‘steal’ Big 4 ‘product’ by sharing it online.
That no money changes hands and no one has been deprived of anything he or she used to own is never mentioned, and the RIAA is able is able to pillory its victims — none of whom have ever been found guilty of anything — in the mainstream media without due process, and without them ever having been near a court of civil law.
Verizon’s move is plainly the thin edge of the Three Strikes wedge the entertainment cartels are trying to drive between governments and the people who elected them.
As Jordan Carter, deputy executive director of Internet New Zealand, recently summed it up:
Big music and movie interests, and other content producers, are conducting a global campaign to put their interests ahead of citizens rights to use the internet and to not be subject to unreasonable and arbitrary penalties that do nothing for public interest.
And if the report of Verizon’s decision to target its own customers on behalf of Big Music is accurate, it’s not only significant, it also amounts to an about-face.
In December, 2008, the RIAA used Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal as its mouthpiece to claim it would no longer be suing individuals.
Instead, it began touting a graduated response — a three strikes and you’re off the net — plan which would use ISPs as corporate enforcers against their own customers.
The RIAA claimed it had the major ISPs onside, implying implementation of the scheme was a virtual certainty.
However, this January, 
We are not working with them on this, Verizon spokeswoman Ellen Yu was quoted as saying in Wired.
Comcast, declined to comment, and referred inquiries to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association whereupon, The group`s vice president, Brian Dietz, said he could not confirm any deals The NCTA, represents dozens of cable internet providers, said the story.
AT&T, declined comment through a spokesman, and Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Charter Communications, did not return repeated phone calls for comment.
Now, for Verizon, “it appears that the company is expanding the antipiracy relationships it has with the entertainment sector,” says CNet, adding:
“In past years, as many of its competitors began to lock arms with entertainment companies, Verizon appeared to hold back. Verizon fought the RIAA when the group went to court to force the ISP to turn over the name of an alleged copyright violator. Verizon also opposed antipiracy legislation important to the film and music sectors.
“Verizon’s attitude toward antipiracy seemed to change in 2005, when the company quietly agreed to forward notices to suspected illegal file sharers on behalf of Disney. In exchange, Verizon received the rights to transmit 12 of Disney’s TV channels over its broadband network.
“Several other ISPs have recently begun forwarding copyright notices on behalf of the film studios, according to the sources who spoke to CNET. It’s not yet clear which other ISPs are involved.”
If Verizon, or any other ISP, starts acting on behalf of the Big 4 they’ll be ratting out their own customers, the people who keep them in business.
Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music have been doing it for years, under the mistaken impression they’d be able to get away with it ad nauseum.
They were wrong, as plummeting sales and drastically deteriorating relationships with the people who used to buy corporate ‘product’, prove.
Stay tuned.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
CNet News – Verizon tests sending RIAA copyright notices, November 12, 2009
global campaign – New Zealand ISP says No! to 3 strikes scheme, November 9, 2009
as its mouthpiece – Big 4`s RIAA to drop mass lawsuits, December 19, 2009
Wired – Top Internet Providers Cool to RIAA 3-Strikes Plan, January 5, 2009
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November 13th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Well, most would lament this situation, however, when the labels neglect to offer alternatives that serve all interested parties and try to recruit ISP’s to do their henchmen … is going to create an interesting backlash. I cant wait to see how Verizon responds to the mass customer defections they endure in the face of consumer disgust and dissatisfaction. Personally, I would love to see Verizon sink to #3 provider, but barring that a PR firestorm would be just as nice. When the big conglomerate world starts realizing customers still have a lot of power, maybe they will start to return to the days of making sure we are happy. You go Verizon! Schmucks.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I actually refused an offer for much faster internet for the same price I’m currently paying because they (Time Warner cable) throttle any p2p type traffic they can. I’ll stick with my 384k for the comfort of good customer service.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Can’t wait for them to try marketing their new FIOS to me (assuming they ever get it here). I’ll stick with Cox Cable!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I just got a fast wireless offer from some guy, today, taped to my front door! (That’s illegal taping right there.) Nobody wants to offer ADSL any more because of the lure of the lack of wires.
November 14th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Remove “RIAA” and “Big 4″ and “major labels” and “fat cat music industry executives” and insert musicians and songwriters and see if you still feel the same way about not paying for music.
If you do, great. You’re beyond reach.
If you don’t then please understand that it’s musicians (often working class musicians on indie labels) that are hurt when you don’t pay for the music you acquire. All the rest of this is just posturing and blather by people who want you to overlook that.
And if they tell you that by posting music on their blog is “promoting” the artist ask them if they’ve consulted with the artist about this “promotion”. Fact is, musicians have promotional avenues coming out of their ears but those who hope to be more than hobbyists will tell you the real trick is earning money as a musician. Why? Because if music fans think it’s ok to file share and acquire music for free it’s impossible for most artists to make a living.
Support music. Buy it.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Rupert Murdoch used his directv in an attempt to extract money from the population. In 2003, Murdoch’s company would hire attornies around the country to file law suits they knew were false and then drove litigation costs so high, the person sued had to settle or go broke long before they could ever have any trial. They sued some 35000 people many who were made to pay money and did nothing. What was wrong, like in the RIAA cases, this was a system devised to force innocent people to hand money over to increase bottom line. In the end, some settlements suggested that the person could never tell on Directv or ask that they be charged for any crimes from the rumors I have heard. Because the justice system permitted murdoch’s group to sue people they knew were innocent using false claims, those people feel let down by the justice system. Some of those have opted to jury nullification the next time they are a juror. No doubt, Jury nullification is wrong, but it was far worse to allow people to be sued by Murdoch where they knew the claims to be false. My web site provides two suits. One against Murdoch’s company and the other where Murdoch sued the victim of the first suit. http://theft-by-satellite-company.com/index.html
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:51 am
AHRA: ALLOWS HOME TAPING BY INDIVIDUALS: PERMITS MANUFACTURE AND USE OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL RECORDING DEVICES, PROHIBITS CHARGING INDIVIDUALS WITH INFRINGEMENT. PIRACY IS A CORPORATE OFFENSE REQUIRING MASS PRODUCTION MACHINES AND SALES TO COMMIT.
RIAA PIRACY AGAINST INDIVIDUALS EXCEEDS THE $25 MAXIMUM FINE PER SONG FOR INFRINGING CORPORATIONS.
RIAA HAS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION AND MUST BE SHUI DOWN.
INDIVIDUALS MAY COPY BOOKS IN A LIBRARY
INDIVIDUALS MAY BUILD A PATENTED MACHINE FOR EDUCATIONAL NONCOMMERCIAL PURPOSE
INDIVIDUALS MAY COPY TAPES, CDS, DVDS, MP3S, OGGS, OR WHATEVER THEY INVENT
CD RECORDERS, DVD RECORDERS, TAPE RECORDERS, BOOM BOXES ARE FOR DOING THIS, IT IS LEGAL.
WITHOUT A CONTRACT WITH THE RIAA YOU HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO RIAA.
YOU MAY SING WHATEVER YOU WANT IN PUBLIC WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT, LIKE THE BIRDS DO.
WARNING: RIAA MAY BE USING MICHAEL JACKSON’S MONEY TO OVERTHROW THE US GOVERNMENT!
NUKE RIAA BEFORE THEY NUKE YOU.
IF YOUR ISP IS WATCHING YOU, DO NOT SEND EXCESSIVE COPYRIGHTED DATA OVER THE INTERNET.
BY THE WAY, YOUR ISP IS WATCHING YOU.
IF YOU ARE USING VISTA/MOHAVE/WINDOWS7 BE INFORMED THAT MICROSOFT AND RIAA/MPAA
COLLABORATED ON IT, WHICH IS WHY IT IS SUCH A FAILURE, BUT …
DANGER WARNING: IF YOU CLICKED I AGREE ON THE EULA FOR WINDOWS, THEN YOU HAVE AGREED
TO LOSE ALL OF YOUR RIGHTS DESCRIBED ABOVE, AND BE SUBJECT TO MILLION DOLLAR FINES BY
AGREEMENT (CONTRACT) AND CONTRACT LAW WILL HURT YOU WHERE AHRA PROTECTED YOU.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO THE MAC COMMERCIALS AND READ YOUR EULA.
EULA SAYS THAT YOU AGREE MICROSOFT IS NOT LIABLE FOR LOSSES IF THEY BREAK WINDOWS
OR ANY OTHER DAMAGE. SO MICROSOFT SELLS YOU BROKEN WINDOWS, CAN READ AND MESS UP
YOUR HARD DRIVE AT WILL, AND YOU HAVE TO SMILE, WHILE RIAA MPAA GETS TO SCREW IT UP
AND THEN SUE YOUR BUTT OFF. IT IS LIKE THAT AND THAT IS HOW IT IS. YOU WOULD BE BETTER
OFF USING ASIAN PIRATE WINDOWS WHICH DOESNT UPDATE NOR GET VIRUSES. MICROSOFT
HATES AMERICA AS MUCH AS THE RIAA AND MPAA DOES I GUESS. IF YOU ARE IN THIS SITUATION
THEN EITHER DONATE A LOT TO EFF OR QUIT USING AND SHARING RIAA TRASH AND JOIN A BAND
AND NEVER EVER SIGN A RECORD CONTRACT OR RIAA WILL STILL OWN YOUR SOUL FOREVER.
REALLY YOU SHOULD STOP GETTING THEIR STUFF AND SHARING IT ON THE INTERNET SINCE
THAT IS THE POWER THEY ARE RUNNING ON NOW. EULA BE SORRY. THEY LOVE IT WHEN YOU
AGREED TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHTS SO THEY COULD OWN YOU. YOU BETTER BE LEET OR THEY
WILL GET YOU. IF YOU ARE EULA’D THEN YOU ARE NOT LEET. IF YOU ARE NOT EULA’D THEN
YOU CAN DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT WITH YOUR OWN MACHINE, BUT IF YOU ARE,
IT’S MICROSOFT’S MACHINE AND YOU WERE JUST NICE ENOUGH TO TIP THEM FOR THE PLEASURE
OF USING THE VIRUS OS AND CATCHING THE BLUE SCREAMS OF DEATH. HOME TAPING KILLS
THE RIAA. EULAS AND FILE SHARING GIVES THEM THEIR SUPER PIRATE POWERS. DO YOU
WANT TO KILL THE RIAA OR YOURSELF? IF I LOOKED AT YOUR HARD DRIVE WHAT WOULD I
SEE? NOTHING? COOL! FULL OF A LIFETIME SALARY WORTH OF MUSIC AND MOVIES AND PRN?
UH OH… THEY CAN SEE IT AND THEIR LAWYERS ARE ON THEIR WAY SMILING!
YOU HAVE NO PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET. ESPECIALLY DURING WINDOWS UPDATES.
SONY CDS AND EA GAMES HAVE ROOTKITS. YOU ARE LIVING NAKED IN A GLASS HOUSE.
NO WALLS, JUST WINDOWS. BOW TO THE GATES OF HELL. VERIZON? DUDE, ITS TIME
TO PAY THE PIPER. AND THE WORST PART OF IT IS YOU CLICKED AGREE ON THE EULA
WITHOUT READING THE CONTRACT FOR YOUR SOUL, BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO BUY
A CASTLE FULL OF COCAINE FOR SOME PIMP AS PUNISHMENT FOR DOING SOMETHING
THAT IS TOTALLY LEGAL. DMCA? THAT DOESN’T SAY YOU CAN’T MAKE BACKUPS, ONLY EULA
SAYS THAT. DMCA JUST SAYS YOU CAN’T HACK COPY PROTECTION. FILE SHARING IS LEGAL
AND ITS WHAT THE INTERNET WAS INVENTED TO DO. YOU AREN’T SMART ENOUGH TO
HACK COPY PROTECTION IF YOU AGREE THE EULA AND THEN TORRENT UP A STORM UNTIL
YOUR ISP PINCHES YOUR PIPE.