Broadband provider monitoring activity

SlyRax

Hey guys,

Have a legal question for yous. I have broadband with a company called centrecom, basically they manage broadband for my company. The set up is, you stay with your current provider (Eircom), my company now pays for it with centrecom as the middleman. Now I've had it 5 1/2 months and it hasn't worked since i got it, it's intermittent, it drops randomly. The support is attrocious they basically told me they can't fix it and aren't gonna try. So when I tried to cancel they said they'd slap me with a fine cause I signed a 6 month contract. So 6 months is nearly up.

However the kicker came today when I got a mail from them saying that paramount pictures has found infringing content on my account and wants me to remove it. Now this obviously means that centrecom is monitoring or allowing others to monitor my download and browsing habits and passing on my details. I have signed nothing that says they can do this. To me this is like your phone company monitoring your calls. So is this legal. I know that if I've committed a crime they can turn info over to the police but can they actively allow a private company to monitor my private habits? I'm canceling my contract but don't want to role over here I wanna nail these if I can.

Thanks for any help.

stink_fist

lol ISPS are now required to log our entire digital footprint (emails, log on time, search inquires etc.) and get this, the garda can access your information for any crime they want! its only come into effect in the last couple of days. Gotta love this "war on terrorism".

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single10383

dub45

If it hasnt worked since you got it then what are you worrying about?

Surely given that this is being operated on behalf of a company you wouldnt have been downloading films especially as the bb want working?:rolleyes:

Cabaal

Your ISP most likely didn't monitor anything, what generally happens is paramount pictures or a 3rd party company working for them monitors P2P/Bittorrent, they most likely saw your IP address connecting to a download and then sent a standard cease letter to your ISP based on who that IP belonged to.

Your ISP then matched the IP address to your connection at that date/time and sent you there standard letter, its unlikely they gave paramount pictures or the 3rd party any details retaining to you.

Its common enough, they've been doing it for years

The amusing thing about your post is your concerned about the legal aspects of your ISP and how/why they contacted you but you don't seem to be concerned about potentially downloading copyright material.

jor el

SlyRax wrote: »

However the kicker came today when I got a mail from them saying that paramount pictures has found infringing content on my account and wants me to remove it.

I assume they mean it was downloaded (or is being shared) and they would like you to remove (or stop sharing) it, and not that you have it stored somewhere "on your account".

If you are sharing copyright material, then the copyright owners are perfectly entitled to seek out those who are infringing. When they match one of their products with an IP, they send a letter to the ISP who owns that IP and inform them of the infringement. The ISP then contacts the person who was assigned that IP at the time the copyright owner claims an infringement was made. Nobody is sharing your info with anyone that shouldn't have access to it. Paramount didn't contact you, right? It was your ISP who contacted you. Therefore, no wrong doing on their part, and nobody to "nail".

SlyRax

This feels like somebody infringing on my privacy, although I can see why they do it, it feels really worng. I mean it sounds like somethign that would happen in the states not here. Anyway like I said the thing is intermitent and drops every now and then anyway so I can't download stuff and definitely can't share it. Oh and I got as link to a website hosted by another third party that I had to fill in my details the reason I had the material and what I was doing about it (I still don't actually know what the "material is"). Sounds like I just got unlucky and they chose to send me a mail cause I visted some sight with their stuff on it. It doesn't scare anyone else that all this is being monitored and there's nothing we can do about it? I've been trying to get out of this contract for months because the product was sub standard and the customer service terrible and there's nothign I could do.

JohnC.

If the service isn't working, doesn't that make the contract invalid? They aren't providing what they should be.

dub45

SlyRax wrote: »

This feels like somebody infringing on my privacy, although I can see why they do it, it feels really worng. I mean it sounds like somethign that would happen in the states not here. Anyway like I said the thing is intermitent and drops every now and then anyway so I can't download stuff and definitely can't share it. Oh and I got as link to a website hosted by another third party that I had to fill in my details the reason I had the material and what I was doing about it (I still don't actually know what the "material is"). Sounds like I just got unlucky and they chose to send me a mail cause I visted some sight with their stuff on it. It doesn't scare anyone else that all this is being monitored and there's nothing we can do about it? I've been trying to get out of this contract for months because the product was sub standard and the customer service terrible and there's nothign I could do.

I would like to agree with Cabaal above (shock horror) I find it quite extraordinary that you are so upset about potential threats to your privacy and you have no problem whatsoever in downloading presumably copyright material on a line that doesnt work!!! You have a legal question for boards is how you begin you post but surely Paramount are well within their rights in having a legal question for you?? And you dont see anything wrong either with using a company paid for line for accessing copyright material?

I don't suppose the date has anything to do with the irony of your post or 'legal query'?

SlyRax

Which is exactly what I though but I'd have to bring them to court to fight my corner which I have neither the time nor money for. I've been onto consumer rights and I am within my rights to cancel but they said they'd request the money straight out of my wages and I don't want that hastle and I don't want to be bringing the higher ups in work into it. Suppose they wanted to scare me into sticking around (and them getting their money) or me cancelling and just paying up (again them getting their money). So I guess they win :-). Which is why i was so angry that all this came about.

SlyRax

So have some more info, supposedly the mail was sent to my ISP by a company afiliated with the RIAA. They recieve alot of these mails, basically the company has a list of IPs that may have their material on it and if you visit it they fire off an e-mail to your ISP. Suposedly it was some sucky show I've never even heard of. Anywho, none of my personal info has been given out :-) woohoo. Identity theft sucks. On another note this sems to have helped my cause somewhat and I'm getting an engineer to the gaf.

tommylizard

Could it just be a matter of a shared IP address, like with 3? What is there stopping somebody being blamed for someone elses downloaded material in such a case?

Phlann

Out of curiosity, were you using a public torrent site? ie not requiring an invite and registration?