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Logistep's tactics violates Switzerland's telecommunication law |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
 Switzerland has warned Logistep, a company which tracks and supplies information on suspected file sharers to law firms around the
world for use in copyright violation, is violating the country's telecommunication law.
According to InfoWorld, Logistep has until Feb. 9 to respond to the Federal Data Protection and Information
Commissioner (FDPIC), said Marc Schaefer, the agency's legal advisor.
Under Swiss law, the identity of a subscriber to an ISP can only be revealed
during the course of a criminal case, not a civil one, Schaefer said. The IP
address of a computer controlled by the subscriber is considered "personal"
information.
Logistep acquires the personal information by asking the Swiss prosecutors to open criminal cases. After Logistep obtained the personal information through the criminal case, Logistep initiates a civil case against the file sharer while the criminal case is
ongoing. However, prosecutors usually drop the criminal case against the person.
Schaefer said,
To obtain the identity behind an IP address ... they just found a way to avoid
the telecommunication law. Therefore, we told Logistep to stop its work until there is a legal basis which
allows such an identification. Logistep has issued a statement contending an IP address is not personal
information.
The FDPIC's recommended to Logistep to stop the practice, but is prepared to
take the matter to court, Schaefer said.
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