RapidShare Hands User Information To German Authorities

File hosting service RapidShare.com has reportedly handed over the IP address information to the recording industry.  Record labels have been taking advantage of the 101st paragraph of German copyright law which forces ISPs to identify content owners on file hosting systems if they are suspected of infringing.

One user claimed that his house was raided by law enforcement officials in Germany thanks to RapidShare.  The user was sharing Metallica’s Death Magnetic album one day before it was released.  In January 2008, RapidShare and the GEMA argued that the website was not responsible for copyright content being hosted.  The courts decided to rule against RapidShare and forced them to remove content proactively.

[via Ars Technica]

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