It was just a matter of time till this company got in trouble for their illegal data gathering methods.
http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-spied-on-thousands-of-p2p-users-080317/The organization responsible for privacy protection in Italy has declared that Logistep has been operating illegally. The Garante della Privacy says that the anti-piracy company breached the privacy of thousands of P2P users when it tracked and reported them to media companies. It has 14 days to cease and desist.
Right across Europe, Swiss anti-piracy tracking outfit Logistep has been gathering information about alleged file-sharers and selling it to copyright holders. They then use the information to make a business out of threatening legal action against file-sharers in order to get cash ‘compensation’.
In January 2008, it was declared that Logistep breached Swiss privacy laws by spying on P2P users and was ordered to stop collecting data about them, on the back of a European Union statement that IP addresses should be regarded as personal data.
Now, in what could be the beginning of the end for Logistep, the ‘Garante della Privacy’ - the Italian organization for data protection and privacy - has declared that Logistep has been acting illegally by spying on P2P users without their permission. In summary, the decision is based on the following points, all related to privacy breaches:
1. It is illegal for a private company such as Logistep to monitor the activities of P2P users on the Internet.
2. The use of P2P software is limited to communication with other P2P clients for the purposes of sharing files. Such software cannot be used for monitoring P2P users.
3. It is illegal to monitor users without their permission. None was requested, nor granted.
In conclusion, the Garante della Privacy has ordered Logistep to delete the data they collected about Italian P2P users by 31st March 2008, as it was gathered illegally.
I hope to hear more of this story in the form of compensation being asked for by all those pressured into paying the extortion money demanded rather than risk court action.
