Historical Ramblings

I haven't blogged much about

I haven't blogged much about the RIAA, but I'm especially thrilled with the latest news to come out of the case, in that the RIAA can't sue someone in Massachusetts though Washington, D.C. courts (Courtesy Yahoo).

The issues of music sharing/piracy are much too difficult to sort out in a blog entry. But what has always irked me is that the RIAA has always assumed a right to sidestep due process because they feel they are always correct. Even the latest attempts -- suing people who own the Internet connection rather than suing the people who are actually doing the music sharing. And yes, I understand the argument that this is the only people who they can get to -- but it's still the equivalent of suing the parents of a 19-year-old kid who borrowed their car to knock over a liquor store. At least the the courts won't yet let them re-format the harddrive of people sharing files.

Whether or not you agree with file sharing, there have to be some legal constraints on tracking down people -- the RIAA cannot simply be allowed to circumvent the American justice system to do their own thing.