RIAA Sued for Racketeering

Its about time.  The RIAA has been using strong arm tactics to enforce their copyrighted property, and these tactics are illegal.  Sending letters threatening to sue for hundreds of thousands of dollars to bully people into settling for a few thousands of dollars amounts to mail fraud and racketeering. 

From the AP here:

Tanya Andersen originally sued the Recording Industry Association of America after RIAA representatives threatened to interrogate her young daughter if she didn’t pay thousands of dollars for music she downloaded from somebody else.

Her amended complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland seeks national class-action status for other people allegedly victimized by the industry’s anti-piracy campaign and the company it hired, MediaSentry.

The new lawsuit claims accuses the industry and MediaSentry of spying “by unlicensed, unregistered and uncertified private investigators” who “have illegally entered the hard drives of tens of thousands of private American citizens” in violation of laws “in virtually every state in the country.”

The information was used to file “sham” lawsuits intended only as intimidation to further the anti-piracy campaign, the lawsuit said.

The complaint notes the case began when Andersen received a notice of an RIAA lawsuit falsely alleging copyright infringement and demanding penalties.

The lawsuit was dismissed and Andersen countersued.

The claim about illegal entry into hard drives won’t hold water.  If dumbass P2P users share out their hard drives to the world, then the RIAA has just as much right to inventory your shared directory as anonymous users. 

But if Anderson’s attorneys stick to the part about threats through the mail, they have a good chance to set a precedent.  The RIAA has every right to pursue legal action against users that violate the copyright laws.  But you are not allowed to intimidate and threaten anyone.