O2 Must Hand Over Details Of Alleged Porn Users

More than 9,000 O2 Broadband customers face a nervous wait after a judge ruled that their details could be disclosed to a pornographer who claims they illegally downloaded his films.

The High Court says that the ISP must hand over their details to Ben Dover Productions and Golden Eye International, but threw out another 12 claims.

Ben Dover

Golden Eye International, founded by adult actor, director and producer Ben Dover, also known as Lindsay Honey, cited a total of 13 films, but was successful in only one as the judge ruled that the claimant’s interest in protecting its copyright outweighed the defendants’ interest in protecting their privacy. The remaining claims were rejected as Golden Eye International intended to keep 75 percent of any damages, something which was deemed to be unacceptable.

O2 had fought to protect its customer’s privacy, but must now match 9, 124 IP addresses with its customer records and hand them over.

However the court said that the claimants’ intention to demand £700 from each of the defendants was “unsupportable” and that the letter sent demanding such a payment to avoid legal action was capable of causing unnecessary distress.

Consumer Focus, which intervened in the case on behalf of the O2 customers, welcomed the ruling, saying that although details were being handed over, it had been established that this did not mean they were guilty and would face punishment.

Welcome precedent

“Following four years of speculative invoicing this case sets an important precedent for the rights of consumers, particularly those who are innocent, and the responsibilities of companies seeking redress on behalf of copyright owners,” said Mike O’ Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus. “It is very welcome that the court has recognised the bill-payer should not be automatically assumed to be guilty when a copyright owner believes they have detected copyright infringement on that internet connection.”

“Consumers should not be subject to the type of threatening letters Golden Eye intended to send to more than 9,000 O2 customers,” he added. “In seeking the personal details of consumers through an Internet Service Provider it is only right that any claim must take into account the privacy and data protection rights of the provider’s customers.”

Earlier this month, several US ISPs announced their plans to take a more proactive role in enforcing copyright online, but the European Court of Justice has ruled that EU member states could not force ISPs to violate their users’ rights. Ministry of Sound failed in its attempt to force BT to reveal the details of alleged music pirates in 2010.

Over one million Internet users faced potential embarrassment last month after it emerged that their email addresses and personal details had been exposed online by popular adult website YouPorn.

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