Snag in fight against music piracy

THE global music industry's campaign against illegal song downloads has hit a snag with internet service providers in the US fighting back at what they see as an unwarranted attack on their customers' privacy.

SBC Communications, a subsidiary of Pacific Bell, is taking legal action to stop the recording industry's attempts to track down illegal downloaders and on Thursday sued the Recording Industry Association of America in a San Francisco federal court.

'The action we are taking is intended to protect the privacy rights of our customers,' said SBC spokesman Larry Meyer. 'It's about the fact that anyone can without any effort obtain one of these Digital Music Copyright Act subpoenas.'

The RIAA has issued more than 1000 subpoenas to SBC and other internet providers over the past few weeks, seeking to find the names of those who use 'peer to peer' services such as Kazaa and Morpheus to swap music.