Verizon Corp. must reveal the identities of two high-speed Internet subscribers accused of illegally trading music online, a federal judge ruled today.

Verizon had first argued that turning over subscribers’ names would violate their constitutional right to privacy.  They said that it is unfair for the music industry to be allowed to obtain subpoenas without judicial approval, but U.S. District Court Judge John Bates threw out that argument in a January ruling.  Verizon then turned to its argument that the DMCA is unconstitutional.

“The case is not over and we intend to immediately appeal the decision and seek a stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals,” Verizon’s Associate General Counsel Sara Deutsch said.  “It’s virtually unprecedented in U.S. law that someone can use a form to find out your identity without any judicial process.”

Verizon argues that record labels should be required to get permission from a judge, rather than a clerk, which would add another legal hurdle to any copyright investigation, and that such a move is necessary to protect user privacy.  Without it any copyright holder — or anybody claiming to be a copyright holder — could easily obtain the name and address of any Internet user, giving easy access to any stalker, sexual predator, con artist or identity thief.

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