Daughter's downloads get mom sued
Rockaway Twp. mom, furious at music industry, vows not to roll
Sunday, December 07, 2003
BY KEVIN COUGHLIN
Star-Ledger Staff
Michele Scimeca said she has tried to lay down the law when it comes to the online activities of her two teenage daughters.
So the Rockaway Township mom sounded surprised yesterday to learn that she is among at least eight New Jersey residents being sued by the music industry for illegal song-swapping.
"I think it's totally, completely ridiculous. It's not fair," said Scimeca, who said she is being targeted for what her 13-year-old had told her was a research project for school.
Scimeca, a secretary for an insurance company, said she and her husband, a mechanic, are "scraping by" to pay the mortgage and cannot afford a lawyer -- let alone penalties that could reach $150,000 per song under federal copyright law.
In a lawsuit filed last week in Newark's federal courthouse, Sony, BMG Music and two other labels listed some 1,200 songs -- the list filled 41 pages -- that allegedly were offered for illegal swapping by "DrEeMeR" over the Internet network KaZaA.
Scimeca said that screen name was used by her youngest daughter, a high school freshman, for a school-related project.
But the family's high-speed Internet service is billed to the mother, so she is named in the suit that claims copyright infringement of songs by Pearl Jam, Korn, Godsmack and four other artists.
It was among 41 lawsuits filed in at least 11 states by the music industry last week, and it marked the first time New Jersey residents have been singled out.
Since September, 382 people have been sued nationwide. The industry blames illegal downloading of music for slumping sales of CDs. At least 220 computer users have agreed to pay settlements, averaging several thousand dollars apiece, according to various published reports. Another 1,054 people have avoided prosecution under an amnesty program, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
"The legal actions taken by the record companies have been effective in educating the American public that illegal file sharing of copyrighted material has significant consequences," said RIAA President Cary Sherman in a prepared statement. "Consumers are increasingly attracted to the host of compelling legal online music alternatives. These lawsuits help to foster an environment that provides a level playing field for these services to succeed."
Scimeca said she had not yet seen the lawsuit. But she got wind something was up a few weeks ago when Cablevision sent her a letter, saying it had handed over information to music companies about her Optimum Online Internet account after receiving a subpoena.
Music labels can subpoena such details without a judge's authorization, under provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. These subpoenas are being challenged in separate cases by the American Civil Liberties Union and SBC Communications.
When Scimeca questioned her daughter about the letter, she said, "I got a blank stare."
Scimeca said she has tried to be an Internet cop for her kids. The family computer is on the main floor of the house, in plain view, and she limits its use, she said. Chat rooms are banned. She peruses the girls' "buddy lists" and even monitors their instant-messaging sessions -- to the point where she knows "POS" is code for "parent over shoulder."
But, she said, "You can't watch them 24 hours a day. By the same token, if they are able to access a site, how are they to know it's wrong?"
Though aware of past controversies surrounding the Napster file-sharing service, Scimeca said she was "oblivious" to KaZaA and Morpheus, another service she said her daughter used and that now resists deletion from their computer.
The music industry should focus on shutting those services, she said.
"How can you blame a 13-year-old child for doing something they didn't know was illegal?" Scimeca said. "I'll start a petition to never buy another record again. It's bull. They need to work on cutting off the sites and shutting down the supply. Kids will always look for free stuff."
"It's not like she murdered someone," Scimeca said of her daughter, whose name she withheld. "When we were kids, we sat with tape recorders and taped songs off the radio. Was that illegal, too?"
She insisted the labels will have a hard time squeezing any money from her.
"I'd have to pay them a dollar a month," Scimeca said.
