Via mefi:

Ah, yes! And so it begins. Not content with using new powers of enforcement and prosecution to simply crack down on sites peddling glassware in clear violation of the War on Drugs (tm), the DOJ has also begun collecting intelligence in a new pseudo-war right here at home.

"The leading public Internet site dedicated to online copyright piracy was seized by the Justice Department today. Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and Paul J. McNulty, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia today announced the seizure of www.iSONEWS.com (warning: read on before clicking that link) as part of a previous plea agreement entered into by a defendant convicted of violating the criminal copyright laws."

Do I sound like a broken record when I say, "But wait, it gets better”?

If you go to iSOnews.com you're likely to arrive at one of two sites. One site is a DOJ notice concerning:
1. The official seizure of the site dated February 26, 2003, and
2. The guilty plea entered by the server's owner David M. Rocci, 22, of Blacksburg, Va. to charges of conspiring to import, market and sell circumvention devices known as modification (or "mod") chips in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The other site is a mirror of the original iSOnews.com as it appeared before the announcement of this seizure.

Like the DEA case a few days ago, it is likely that visitors to this site are flagged and filed in the grand DOJ database. It is also likely that this has been the case since the date of the defendant's guilty plea: December 19, 2002.

This is the beginning of the end. Anyone possessing a large number of copies of copyrighted material will likely be targeted should these new DOJ powers withstand even a single appeal.

I guess the entertainment industries have finally found a way to end internet file trading without spending a dime.

By downloading copyrighted data, you're aiding the terrorists.

Labels: dea, doj, fisa, p2p, tia