TorrentSpy must preserve data in RAM

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A federal judge has upheld a magistrate's decision forcing TorrentSpy to enable server logging so the Motion Picture Association of America can obtain the IP addresses of those connecting to BitTorrent files via the service. There's one small hitch for the MPAA, though. TorrentSpy has decided to block access by US residents, ensuring that the MPAA will find little of interest in the log files and rendering the court's decision moot—at least for this case.

Throughout its existence, TorrentSpy has not been in the habit of keeping server logs. Its old privacy policy said that it did not collect any personal information on users, including IP addresses. After the MPAA filed suit against TorrentSpy (and a handful of other of other tracker sites), the expected treasure trove of IP addresses failed to emerge from TorrentSpy due to the aforementioned lack of logs. The MPAA's response was simple: try to force TorrentSpy to turn on logging.

TorrentSpy fought the MPAA's request, arguing that privacy laws in the Netherlands—where the servers are physically located—prevented it from maintaining and disclosing the logs. The site also argued that the log data wasn't available, since it existed only in RAM, and as such, was never stored.

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