Porn piracy crackdown targets 20,000

NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing the U.S. pornography industry say they have filed suit against at least 20,000 people in the country for illegally downloading XXX movies.

Some of the defendants, identified anonymously as "John Doe," are challenging the suits. Their lawyers say they are being bullied for a settlement of about $2,000 to $3,000 by an industry that takes in billions of dollars in revenue each year, reported The Norfolk Virginia-Pilot. The defendants are able to maintain their anonymity by paying the settlement.

"In my opinion, they are bill collectors for the movie industry," said Mike Meier, a Washington, D.C., lawyer handling some of the cases. "They're basically extorting money."

However, John Steele, a lawyer representing porn companies in some of these lawsuits, contends that piracy is a real problem in the industry. He says that some of the cases have been dismissed but as of yet, no case has gone to trial.

Defense lawyers say the widespread crackdown is bound to include innocent people, pointing to a case where a 70-year-old woman was mistakenly accused of downloading illegal porn.