Man accused by RIAA over Latino sharing doesn't speak Spanish

THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER Foundation (EFF) said today it is taking up the legal cudgels on behalf of Ross Plank, who is one of the 261 people being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

According to the EFF, Plank is being accused of sharing hundreds of Latin songs using Kazaa filesharing software, but it claims he can't speak Spanish, doesn't listen to Latino music, and his computer didn't have Kazaa installed.

Plank, who is a computer consultant, said that he needs his PC and Interweb connection to run his business, but got a letter from his Internet provider, Comcast, saying the RIAA wanted to know who he was.

A lawyer at the EFF said Plank was being used as "collateral damage" in what it described as an RIAA "dragnet".

Legal director Cindy Cohn said: "The recording industry's 'sue first, ask questions later' policy caused this problem."

The EFF claimed the RIAA told the US Congress that its members would contact individuals in the future before suing them. She said: "They cannot violate the privacy of people like Ross Plank.... until they have demonstrated to a judge that they have their facts straight". µ