Verizon v the DMCA

ISPs were at the table when Congress hammered out the DMCA. Their main goal was to avoid liability for what people used their networks for, and to avoid the cost of monitoring network usage, and they largely got this through the act's "safe harbor" provisions. The RIAA's success in getting a lower court to subpoana Verizon for a file traders identity imposes the cost of policing on the ISP, something they don't want to carry. Sarah Deutsch, vice president and associate general counsel for Verizon. is right to resist the law suit.

But I do like the fact that the RIAA is finally going after individuals and not trying to ban technology. But going after individuals is very expensive, which is presumably why they've waited so long before resorting to it.