TorrentSpy Search Engine Ordered to Track Users' Activities During Litigation
In what may be an unprecedented move by a federal court, CNet reports that Judge Jacqueline Chooljianthe of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has ordered TorrentSpy, a BitTorrent search engine, to maintain logs tracking the activities of users' of the site. The order, which conflicts with TorrentSpy's privacy policy, was entered in a lawsuit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) against TorrentSpy and others in February 2006 in which the MPAA alleges that the BitTorrent search engine makes it easier for Internet users to download pirated files. On Friday, Judge Chooljianthe reportedly stayed the order pending TorrentSpy's filing of an appeal.