March 15, 2004 4:55 PM PST
P2P faces new legal scrutiny from states
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A Feb. 25 draft letter that appears to have been edited for California Attorney General
But Dresslar acknowledged that his boss is investigating peer-to-peer networks. "The attorney general has several concerns related to peer-to-peer file sharing, including exposure of kids to pornography, identity theft, viruses and copyright infringement. He's asked for ideas and suggestions on how to address those concerns and is working with his colleagues in other states to address the concerns."
The
Included in the "metadata," or electronic history, of the Microsoft Word draft letter was a reference to
Stevenson said in an interview Monday that it should "come as no surprise to anybody that we talked to attorneys general, particularly the chief law enforcement officer in California, because of the impact that illegal file copying and stealing has on motion pictures and sound-recording industries, the lifeblood of California."
File-swapping companies have come under increasing
Stevenson would not say how many other states he had contacted. But he added that "you would expect us at one time or another to try to get to every one of them."
Lockyer's office would not elaborate on what the attorney general might be planning in terms of legislative or legal pressure.
The draft letter is deeply critical of companies for failing to warn consumers of the legal dangers of sharing copyrighted works using the software or of the widespread availability of pornography. Those omissions could trigger state legal action, the letter warns. "A failure to prominently and adequately warn consumers, particularly when you advertise and sell paid versions of your software, could constitute, at the very least, a deceptive trade practice," according to the letter.
Others said they believe that peer-to-peer companies could face legal headaches from states, if they aren't careful. "There's potential liability, if peer-to-peer providers have not adequately disclosed to users the operations of their systems," said Chris Kelly, a Palo Alto, Calif., attorney who represents technology companies.
The
"The letter contains...many factual errors concerning peer-to-peer technology and the allegedly disproportionate 'danger' that it poses to the public," the group told Lockyer. "We...respectfully request that you defer circulating or sending your letter until such a meeting can be arranged and our input and materials deliberately considered."
Microsoft Word document metadata has exposed other private internal dialogs in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, CNET News.com discovered that the SCO Group, a company that has filed several high-profile lawsuits alleging that part of the Linux operating system infringes on its copyrights,
See more CNET content tagged:
Bill Lockyer,
peer-to-peer company,
P2P,
file-swapping company,
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