[GPSCC-chat] Possible Lawsuit Over July 12, 2012 Center For Copyright Information Initiative

[John Thielking]

Hello,
 
I have been concerned for some time about bills such as SOPA and PIPA and now CISPA (scheduled to be voted on this week) that infringe on people's privacy online.  However, the biggest threat to online privacy is not coming from legislation.  It is coming in the form of an industry-wide conspiracy promoted and funded by the MPAA and RIAA to police every move that people make online to be sure that they are not downloading or uploading copyrighted content illegally.  Internet Service Providers such as ATT, Verizon, Time Warner and Comcast are all on board with this initiative.  The formal name of the initiative is the Center For Copyright Information.  Details can be found on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Copyright_Information .  The problem with this initiative is that in order to be effective, ISPs would be required to do what is called "Deep Packet Inspection" of every byte of data transferred to and from your computer
 that is connected to the Internet.
 
I talked briefly with a lawyer about this and he agreed with me on two key points.
 
1) The ISPs may be violating wiretapping laws, especially if they don't get a court order before imposing sanctions or releasing information about infringement to third parties.
 
2) If they are violating wiretapping laws in concert with the MPAA and RIAA they could be sued by people who have standing under the federal RICO statute.
 
So I am putting out the information that although I have yet to acquire standing to sue under RICO, I am perfectly willing to help anyone who wants me to get involved to try to find a law firm that would be able to help someone who does have standing on a contingency basis. 
Ultimately I envision having a class action lawsuit develop to stop this initiative dead in its tracks.
 
One possible roadblock is that if CISPA passes this legislation could legalize a major portion of what I'm claiming is illegal within the initiative, as CISPA specifically authorizes private companies to share information about your Internet use with each other and with the government, in the name of cyber-security.
 
For more info on CISPA and to sign the petition against it, go here:
 
https://www.accessnow.org/page/contribute/cispa
 
Thanks.
 
Sincerely,
 
John Thielking
 
PS:  CISPA is scheduled to be voted on in the House on Thursday April 26, 2012.  Zoe Lofgren has come out against it.  Boxer and Feinstein have yet to take a position on it.
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