> “Here you have ICE making a seizure, based on the say-so of the record company guys, and getting secret extensions as they wait for their masters, the record companies, for evidence to prosecute,” Cohn [the EFF’s legal director] said in a telephone interview. “This is the RIAA controlling a government investigation and holding it up for a year.”
I don't like these seizures either, nor that the RIAA has and uses its influence to tie up somebody's property this way without consequence. But the EFF seems to insist on going that one step too far when they make public comments. The wording ("secret extensions as they wait for their masters", "RIAA controlling a government investigation") turns me right off and makes them sound like cranks.
Several ex RIAA lawyers hold top Justice Department posts, as was pointed out by Ray Beckerman back when they were appointed.
> "secret extensions as they wait for their masters"
The case was delayed for about a year because they were waiting on the RIAA for proof of infringement after seizing the site based on an RIAA complaint.
But I can see your point about the way they phrased it.
While I don't really like this kind of editorializing, I haven't seen a better explanation for why things work the way they do -- with RIAA/MPAA people often accompanying FBI raids, writing police training material on counterfeit CDs and DVDs, and NBC hosting federal governments' anti-piracy videos on seized domains.
> “Here you have ICE making a seizure, based on the say-so of the record company guys, and getting secret extensions as they wait for their masters, the record companies, for evidence to prosecute,” Cohn [the EFF’s legal director] said in a telephone interview. “This is the RIAA controlling a government investigation and holding it up for a year.”
I don't like these seizures either, nor that the RIAA has and uses its influence to tie up somebody's property this way without consequence. But the EFF seems to insist on going that one step too far when they make public comments. The wording ("secret extensions as they wait for their masters", "RIAA controlling a government investigation") turns me right off and makes them sound like cranks.