] The music industry disclosed aggressive plans Wednesday ] for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against ] Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of ] individual computer users who illegally share music files ] online. ] ] The Recording Industry Association of America, citing ] substantial sales declines, said it will begin Thursday ] to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify ] users who offer "substantial" collections of MP3-format ] music files for downloading. It expects to file at least ] several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within ] eight to 10 weeks. ] ] Executives for the RIAA, the Washington-based lobbying ] group that represents major labels, would not say how ] many songs on a user's computer will qualify for a ] lawsuit. The new campaign comes just weeks after U.S. ] appeals court rulings requiring Internet providers to ] identify subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music ] and movie files. ] ] The RIAA's president, Carey Sherman, said tens of ] millions of Internet users of popular file-sharing ] software after Thursday will expose themselves to "the ] real risk of having to face the music." ] ] "It's stealing. It's both wrong and illegal," Sherman ] said. Alluding to the court decisions, Sherman said ] Internet users who believe they can hide behind an alias ] online were mistaken. "You are not anonymous," Sherman ] said. "We're going to begin taking names." SING Send in the goons... /SING Music labels to sue hundreds of music sharers |