Jennifer Barker picked up her telephone in May 2012 to find, on the other end of the line, a woman who said her name was Stephanie Hansen. Hansen was calling to settle a lawsuit against Barker — all over the illicit downloading of pornography via BitTorrent back in December 2011.Barker had heard nothing about any lawsuit; indeed, she said that she had never downloaded pornography from the ‘Net and had no idea what this “BitTorrent” even was. Hansen nevertheless wanted a payment; if none was forthcoming, Barker might well find herself facing up to $150,000 in damages under US copyright law. And her name might be publicly linked with pornography.
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/accused-of-downloading-porn-kentucky-woman-sues-the-pornographers/Also see:Ky. woman fights porn companies’ anti-piracy suits [AP]
It’s a common tactic for pornography producers trying to protect their product from online piracy: They sue unknown “John Does” who illegally download movies, then go to Internet providers to learn their true identities and collect.Hundreds of porn companies have filed thousands of lawsuits across the country in recent years. Often, representatives will call up the defendants, offering quick settlements of $1,000 or $5,000 to avoid facing $150,000 claims and the embarrassment of being publicly outed.
news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/ky-woman-fights-porn-companies-antipiracy-suits-20120711-21vyp.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7268127/Fighting-porn-companies-anti-piracy-suits
news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/ky-woman-fights-porn-companies-antipiracy-suits-20120711-21vyp.html
Accused of downloading porn, Kentucky woman sues the pornographers
Jennifer Barker picked up her telephone in May 2012 to find, on the other end of the line, a woman who said her name was Stephanie Hansen. Hansen was calling to settle a lawsuit against Barker — all over the illicit downloading of pornography via BitTorrent back in December 2011.