Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
EFF: Unsealed Court Records Confirm that RIAA Delays Were Behind Year-Long Seizure of Hip Hop Music Blog
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Epsilon Tau Alpha
May 16, 2012, 9:45:02 AM5/16/12
to
May 3, 2012 | By [17]Cindy Cohn and [18]Corynne McSherry
Unsealed Court Records Confirm that RIAA Delays Were Behind Year-Long
Seizure
of Hip Hop Music Blog
After [19]a year-long seizure and six more months of secrecy, the
[20]court records were finally released concerning the mysterious
government takedown of [21]Dajaz1.com – a popular blog dedicated to hip
hop music and culture. The records confirm that one of the key reasons
the blog remained censored for so long is that the government obtained
three secret extensions of time by claiming that it was [22]waiting for
“rights holders” and later, the Recording Industry Association of
America, to evaluate a "sampling of allegedly infringing content"
obtained from the website and respond to other “outstanding
questions.”
In other words, having goaded the government into an outrageous and
very public seizure of the blog, the RIAA members refused to follow up
and answer the government’s questions. In turn, the government acted
shamefully, not returning the blog or apologizing for its apparent
mistake, but instead secretly asking the court to extend the seizure
and deny Dajaz1 the right to seek return of its property or otherwise
get due process. The government also refused to answer Congressional
questions about the case. ICE finally released the domain name in
December of 2011, again with no explanation.
It’s not hard to guess what some of the unanswered “outstanding
questions” might have been. Dajaz1.com, was seized with much fanfare by
the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the
Department of Homeland Security over the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend. It
was [23]widely reported at the time that Dajaz1 should never have been
targeted, that much of the blog’s content was lawful, and that many of
the allegedly infringing links were given to the site’s owner by
artists and labels themselves – including Kanye West, Diddy, and a vice
president of a major record label. So, at a minimum, we imagine the
government was asking the RIAA to provide some evidence that the
seizure was justified in the first place.
EFF teamed with the California First Amendment Coalition, represented
by Josh Koltun, and our efforts were joined by [24]Wired, in seeking
the unsealing of the court records. Confronted with the prospect of
having to defend the ongoing secrecy in court even after had it
returned the domain, the government [25]agreed to allow the records to
be unsealed.
Now that the full [26]court records are out, this seizure raises
critical questions about the government’s use of its new powers to shut
down lawful speech in the form of domain seizures for alleged copyright
infringements. It also demonstrates the basic unfairness of the
processes and secrecy invoked here and possibly in hundreds of other
domain name seizures across the country. For nearly a year, the
government muzzled Dajaz1.com – denying the blog’s author the right to
speak and the public’s right to read what was published there – and
then compounded matters by claiming extreme secrecy and blocking the
Dajaz1 and the public’s access to information about the case.
Equally troubling, the records confirm what was already suggested by
the initial affidavit used to obtain the seizure order: that ICE, and
its attorneys, are effectively acting as the hired gun of the content
industry at taxpayers' expense. Instead of relying on rightsholders to
determine whether a seizure was appropriate, the government should have
been conducting its own thorough investigation. If it had acted in
anything like good faith, it could have determined that the site wasn't
a proper target even before the seizure, or at least could have
discovered and rectified the mistake before a year had passed.
The whole story is, in a word, appalling. The only silver lining?
U.S. taxpayers and their representatives have an object lesson, if one
were needed, in why the government should not be [27]granted new IP
enforcement powers and why we need to [28]reconsider the inclusion of
copyright infringement as a basis for civil seizure and forfeiture.
And in the short term, maybe when Hollywood comes knocking again, ICE
will remember that the RIAA isn’t such a reliable crime-fighting
partner after all.
[29]Free Speech
[30]No Downtime for Free Speech
[31]Intellectual Property
Related Cases
[32]Puerto 80 v. US
[33]In the Matter of the Seizure of the Internet Domain Name
"DAJAZ1.COM"
More DeepLinks Posts Like This
* December 2011
[34]Blacklist Bills Ripe for Abuse Part II: Expansion of Government
Powers
* December 2011
[35]Blacklist Bills Ripe for Abuse, Part I: "Market-Based" Systems
* May 2011
[36]Another Agency May Have Lied to Court in a FOIA Case
* February 2011
[37]What Congress Can Learn from the Recent ICE Seizures
* August 2011
[38]Court Refuses to Return Seized Domain Name, Claims Shutting
Down Speech Doesn't Cause a Substantial Hardship
References
17. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/cindy-cohn
18. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/corynne-mcsherry
19. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111208/08225217010/breaking-news-
feds-falsely-censor-popular-blog-over-year-deny-all-due-process-hide-all-
details.shtml
20. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
21. http://dajaz1.com/
22. https://www.eff.org/node/70605
23. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/business/media/20music.html?_r=1
24. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/
25. https://www.eff.org/node/70611
26. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
27. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse-
part-ii-expansion-government-powers
28. https://www.eff.org/document/amicus-brief-rojadirecta
29. https://www.eff.org/issues/free-speech
30. https://www.eff.org/issues/ip-and-free-speech
31. https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property
32. https://www.eff.org/cases/puerto-80-v-us
33. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
34. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse-
part-ii-expansion-government-powers
35. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse
36. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/05/another-agency-may-have-lied-
court-foia-case
37. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/02/what-congress-can-learn-
recent-ice-seizures
38. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/court-refuses-give-seized-
domain-name-back-claims
Unsealed Court Records Confirm that RIAA Delays Were Behind Year-Long
Seizure
of Hip Hop Music Blog
After [19]a year-long seizure and six more months of secrecy, the
[20]court records were finally released concerning the mysterious
government takedown of [21]Dajaz1.com – a popular blog dedicated to hip
hop music and culture. The records confirm that one of the key reasons
the blog remained censored for so long is that the government obtained
three secret extensions of time by claiming that it was [22]waiting for
“rights holders” and later, the Recording Industry Association of
America, to evaluate a "sampling of allegedly infringing content"
obtained from the website and respond to other “outstanding
questions.”
In other words, having goaded the government into an outrageous and
very public seizure of the blog, the RIAA members refused to follow up
and answer the government’s questions. In turn, the government acted
shamefully, not returning the blog or apologizing for its apparent
mistake, but instead secretly asking the court to extend the seizure
and deny Dajaz1 the right to seek return of its property or otherwise
get due process. The government also refused to answer Congressional
questions about the case. ICE finally released the domain name in
December of 2011, again with no explanation.
It’s not hard to guess what some of the unanswered “outstanding
questions” might have been. Dajaz1.com, was seized with much fanfare by
the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the
Department of Homeland Security over the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend. It
was [23]widely reported at the time that Dajaz1 should never have been
targeted, that much of the blog’s content was lawful, and that many of
the allegedly infringing links were given to the site’s owner by
artists and labels themselves – including Kanye West, Diddy, and a vice
president of a major record label. So, at a minimum, we imagine the
government was asking the RIAA to provide some evidence that the
seizure was justified in the first place.
EFF teamed with the California First Amendment Coalition, represented
by Josh Koltun, and our efforts were joined by [24]Wired, in seeking
the unsealing of the court records. Confronted with the prospect of
having to defend the ongoing secrecy in court even after had it
returned the domain, the government [25]agreed to allow the records to
be unsealed.
Now that the full [26]court records are out, this seizure raises
critical questions about the government’s use of its new powers to shut
down lawful speech in the form of domain seizures for alleged copyright
infringements. It also demonstrates the basic unfairness of the
processes and secrecy invoked here and possibly in hundreds of other
domain name seizures across the country. For nearly a year, the
government muzzled Dajaz1.com – denying the blog’s author the right to
speak and the public’s right to read what was published there – and
then compounded matters by claiming extreme secrecy and blocking the
Dajaz1 and the public’s access to information about the case.
Equally troubling, the records confirm what was already suggested by
the initial affidavit used to obtain the seizure order: that ICE, and
its attorneys, are effectively acting as the hired gun of the content
industry at taxpayers' expense. Instead of relying on rightsholders to
determine whether a seizure was appropriate, the government should have
been conducting its own thorough investigation. If it had acted in
anything like good faith, it could have determined that the site wasn't
a proper target even before the seizure, or at least could have
discovered and rectified the mistake before a year had passed.
The whole story is, in a word, appalling. The only silver lining?
U.S. taxpayers and their representatives have an object lesson, if one
were needed, in why the government should not be [27]granted new IP
enforcement powers and why we need to [28]reconsider the inclusion of
copyright infringement as a basis for civil seizure and forfeiture.
And in the short term, maybe when Hollywood comes knocking again, ICE
will remember that the RIAA isn’t such a reliable crime-fighting
partner after all.
[29]Free Speech
[30]No Downtime for Free Speech
[31]Intellectual Property
Related Cases
[32]Puerto 80 v. US
[33]In the Matter of the Seizure of the Internet Domain Name
"DAJAZ1.COM"
More DeepLinks Posts Like This
* December 2011
[34]Blacklist Bills Ripe for Abuse Part II: Expansion of Government
Powers
* December 2011
[35]Blacklist Bills Ripe for Abuse, Part I: "Market-Based" Systems
* May 2011
[36]Another Agency May Have Lied to Court in a FOIA Case
* February 2011
[37]What Congress Can Learn from the Recent ICE Seizures
* August 2011
[38]Court Refuses to Return Seized Domain Name, Claims Shutting
Down Speech Doesn't Cause a Substantial Hardship
References
17. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/cindy-cohn
18. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/corynne-mcsherry
19. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111208/08225217010/breaking-news-
feds-falsely-censor-popular-blog-over-year-deny-all-due-process-hide-all-
details.shtml
20. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
21. http://dajaz1.com/
22. https://www.eff.org/node/70605
23. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/business/media/20music.html?_r=1
24. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/
25. https://www.eff.org/node/70611
26. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
27. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse-
part-ii-expansion-government-powers
28. https://www.eff.org/document/amicus-brief-rojadirecta
29. https://www.eff.org/issues/free-speech
30. https://www.eff.org/issues/ip-and-free-speech
31. https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property
32. https://www.eff.org/cases/puerto-80-v-us
33. https://www.eff.org/cases/matter-seizure-internet-domain-name-
dajaz1com
34. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse-
part-ii-expansion-government-powers
35. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/blacklist-bills-ripe-abuse
36. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/05/another-agency-may-have-lied-
court-foia-case
37. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/02/what-congress-can-learn-
recent-ice-seizures
38. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/court-refuses-give-seized-
domain-name-back-claims
0 new messages