German Court Orders Release Of 20,000 Names Of Online Porn-Watchers

A German court has released the names and addresses of about 20,000 people whose IP addresses were detected on porn website Redtube in a copyright infringement case, NBC News reports.

Law firm Urmann + Collegen (U+C) , who represented clients claiming videos uploaded to the site infringed on their copyright, fought for the release of personal details and for fines to be issued.

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U+C applied to the court to order German Internet service provider Deutsche Telekom to release the names of tens of thousands of people who had watched these videos. The law firm then sent out between 10,000 and 20,000 letters, each with a fine of 250 euros (approximately $343).

Other attorneys speaking to NBC claim the release was a mistake, because judges wrongly believed videos were downloaded rather than streamed.

"This is a huge mistake, and the fact that these people's private details were released is very worrying," Christian Solmecke, a partner at Cologne-based law firm Wilde Beuger Solmecke, told NBC.

See the full story at NBC News >