UK ISP Demands Disgraced Anti-P2P Firms Delete Customer Data

[nsane.forums]

Says Media CAT has already "confirmed" it has deleted all customer data it was sent in connection with file-sharing accusations, and that it has already gone to court to force Digiprotect to do the same.

Now that ACS: Law has officially quit the mass file-sharing lawsuit business, UK ISP BT is demanding that its anti-P2P clients delete identifying customer data it submitted in connection with the now debunked "speculative invoicing" scheme.

"We have been working to resolve a number of outstanding issues around the Norwich Pharmacal Orders in light of developments around ACS:Law," it says Kerry, its BTCare Community Manager, in a forum post.

That order was the recent one issued by UK Patents County Court Judge Birss QC who found that Media CAT was at best a "licensee" and not an actual copyright holder. He tossed out 27 mass file-sharing lawsuits that had originally been lumped together because of their "unusual features."

"With regard to Media CAT, we have been under a court order since July last year to supply it with details belonging to thousands more customers," she says. "We refused to do so and have now secured a further order to set aside the July order, meaning that the customer details will not be disclosed. Media CAT has also confirmed that all customer data that we sent to it in the past has now been deleted."

Ministry of Sound also targeted thousands of file-sharers last July in a similar "speculative invoicing" scheme. Recipients were warned to pay up to £350 ($569 USD) or face stiff legal action.

It later quit the campaign last November, but BT has made sure to obtain a court order releasing it from its obligation to identify suspected file-sharers.

"Ministry of Sound had the benefit of a court order from May 2010, which similarly required us to send thousands of customer details," she adds. "We have now obtained another court order releasing us from that obligation. As was reported last year, Ministry of Sound withdrew its second application after we raised important issues we felt the court should consider."

As for Digiprotect, another ACS: Law client, BT is moving forward with plans to secure a court order forcing the anti-P2P firm to delete customer data in its possession.

"We have already disclosed some customer details to it under a court order in early 2010. Since even before the revelations about ACS:Law, we had been challenging Digiprotect on its use of that data but did not get satisfactory answers. We have now taken the matter back to court and secured an order requiring Digiprotect either to issue proceedings or delete the data. The time for issuing proceedings has now expired and the data should be deleted," she continues.

As if an ISP being aggressively proactive with protecting customer data wasn't enough, Kerry also says it is preparing a "new framework policy" to deal with future anti-P2P requests since Judge Birss QC ruled that only an actual copyright holder is eligible to sue for infringement.

"As a business we must facilitate genuine rights holders who wish to enforce their copyright in a proportionate way," she says. "With that in mind we have been working on a new framework policy to deal with future applications, in a bid to protect our customers. We continue to develop that policy, particularly in light of the comments of HHJ Birss QC in the recent Media CAT cases."

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