A US court has ruled that users have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their internet surfing records and that police must obtain warrants from higher than usual courts in order to force ISPs to hand over records.

US court says IP addresses are private | The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/24/us_rules_ip_addresses_private/)

About time to is all I can say.
Hopefully this will stop the John Doe actions taken by the likes of RIAA and MPAA for supposed piracy of copyright material.

I also applaud this precedent. One of the points that leapt out at me from that article was this:

"More sophisticated users understand that that unique string of numbers, standing alone, reveals little if anything to the outside world. Only an internet service provider can translate an IP address into a user's name."

This question of what people can do with an IP has often come up here this is the answer, that most of us have given.

As for the RIAA "terrorists". I don't think this will stop them, nor do I believe it should. I believe the RIAA as a right to protect their copyrights. I Think the RIAA should be able to go before a grand jury and show a list of IPs and proof that they have distributed copyrighted material. Assuming they can, the grand jury should grant such warrants.

As for the RIAA "terrorists". I don't think this will stop them, nor do I beleive it should. I believe the RIAA as a right to protect their copyrights. I Think the RIAA should be able to go before a grand jury and show a list of IPs and proof that they have distributed copyrighted material. Assuming they can, the grand jury should grant such warrants.

Yes, if they already have hard evidence of wrong doing, but a lot of these actions are simply phishing trips.
Hopefully it should make the more accountable and less trigger happy. Their continual scatter gun approach is, I believe, causing more problems for the record labels than actually resolving.

The RIAA was originally set up to be a central public relations and promotions contact for the labels NOT a police force.

This whole thing vindicates the old English saying that Every Mans' Home is his Castle.

Hello Ben:

It's a short term victory. All they've got to do is appeal to the Supreme Court. According to a thread dealing with a similar circumstance, Scalia will crush any privacy concerns you and I might have.

Isn't your car your castle too? Used to be.

excon