CEA to RIAA - "you make yourself look evil."

That's the Consumer Electronics Association to the Recording Industry Association of America.

And the lawsuits against the little kids don't help either.

Or thinking that technology is somehow going to conform to your outdated business model... but I digress...

Boing Boing: CEA to RIAA: you make yourself look evil:

"Shapiro countered: ”I don’t make you look evil - your lawsuits against old people around the country make you look evil. You’re very good at paraphrasing things I never said.”"

The lengthier explanation, via Wikipedia -

"There is much criticism of the RIAA's policy and method of suing individuals for copyright infringement, notably with Internet-based pressure groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Boycott RIAA and FreeCulture... There are some suggestions that the RIAA begins legal proceedings without any knowledge of whether they have engaged in copyright infringement or not. Brad Templeton of the Electronic Frontier Foundation has called these types of lawsuits spamigation and implied they are done merely to intimidate people.

The RIAA has been criticised in the media after they subpoenaed Gertrude Walton, an 83-year-old grandmother who had died in December of 2004. Mrs. Walton stood accused of swapping rock, pop and rap songs. The RIAA in 2003 attempted to sue Sarah Seabury Ward, a 66 year-old sculptor residing in Boston, Massachusetts. They alleged that she shared more than 2,000 songs illegally. The RIAA dropped the suit when it was discovered that she was a computer novice. The case was dismissed, but without prejudice.

In a Brooklyn case, Elektra v. Schwartz, against RaeJ Schwartz, a Queens woman with Multiple Sclerosis, the RIAA's Lawyers wrote to the Judge that they were in possession of a letter in which "...America Online, Inc., has confirmed that Defendant was the owner of the internet access account through which hundreds of Plaintiffs’ sound recordings were downloaded and distributed to the public without Plaintiffs’ consent.” After the defense received a copy of the letter, it turned out that the letter merely identified Ms. Schwartz as the owner of an internet access account, and said nothing at all about "downloading" or distributing".

The RIAA has also been criticised for bringing lawsuits against children, such as 12 year old Brianna LaHara in 2003. The RIAA also attempted to sue Candy Chan of Michigan, for the alleged actions of her daughter, 13 year old Brittany Chan. Under the threat of a possible defendant's motion for summary judgment and attorneys fees, the RIAA withdrew the case Priority Records v. Chan. When the court ruled in favor of the mother, dismissing the case, the RIAA proceeded to sue her child...

The RIAA's recent targeting of students has generated controversy as well...