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Is extortion really the correct word in this instance?
I thought extortion was something like the mob going to some mom & pop store and telling them they need to pay them " protection" money or their store will burn to the ground.
When the lawyers serve the " suspected " pirates the pirates have a choice of admitting their guilt and paying for the damages or claiming their innocence and having their day in a court of law to do so. If found innocent they walk away and if found guilty as accused, they pay the damages. That just seems like a normal, legal process to me.
Settling out of court is a very common thing and I don't see how that's considered extortion.
Lawsuits, insurance claims and the King of Pop settled out of court and it's not extortion.
What makes this a tad bit different is the embarrassment factor which plays a big part in the accused's decision however, the accused has a choice with a legal path.
The embarrassment factor is not new and often used as a deterrent or to settle out of court. Daytona Police have adopted this tactic in fighting prostitution. They couldn't get rid of the hookers and the johns kept coming so they decided to have the local paper publish the names of all the Johns arrested for soliciting prostitutes.
The only part I don't like in using this tactic to fight piracy is that innocent people will be dragged through it as a result of the imperfect technology. It's unfortunate collateral damage in a war that must be fought some way some how.
I imagine a day will come when every person that accesses the internet will be required to have a unique identification like a SS# or Drivers license # that can be traced and connected to them.
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