I can’t believe this story that I just read about a Minnesota woman named Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who was sued by the RIAA for illegally sharing songs on Kazaa. The RIAA took her to court and won a $1.9 million judgment against her.
That is INSANE!!! $1.9 million for 24 songs?? How does that punishment even come close to fitting the crime? People are fined less than that for drunk driving, FFS.
What’s worse is that the fine was determined by a jury of this woman’s “peers”. Um, yeah, I bet a majority of the people sitting on that jury were 50+ and don’t even own a computer. 
Because seriously, who among us can say they have never illegally downloaded a song or movie or book?
I’m not saying that illegal downloading is ok or that Thomas-Rasset should go unpunished. But $1.9 million is totally, completely ridiculous.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:23 am
She wasn’t charged with downloading them. Rather, the 1.9 million was done because she shared them. Therefore your title is misleading. It’s not for downloading but for sharing. Sad to see CNN get it wrong from some crappy writer
June 20th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
The problem is that she was offered a fine of about $3,500.00 which most defendants accepted. She chose to fight the fine and has to pay more for her illegal downloads. I think CNN needs to make it clear that many more people have been charged and paid the $3,000 fine. I bet you now that many people will think twice about illegal downloads knowing the potential fine for the one who just gets a few songs here or there.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:34 am
Thanks for the corrections! You’re both right: she was fined for sharing the songs, not downloading them. I have “sharing” in my post, but “downloading” in my title. And she did have an opportunity to settle for $3,000 or $3,500, but opted to roll the dice by going to court.
Also, I’ve read that the RIAA is still willing to settle with her for $3,500 despite the jury award.