RIAA dumps sleuthing firm

MediaSentry is said to be the primary provider of user download data for the RIAA

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is said to be calling off a deal with the company that gathered information for its legal campaigns.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the RIAA had terminated its partnership with MediaSentry, a firm which specialises in online copyright protection and investigation services.

MediaSentry is said to be the primary provider of user download data for the RIAA's controversial legal campaign. The group has for several years been the target of consumer and privacy advocates for its decision to file suit against business employees and home users who downloaded music.

News of the move is the latest in what has become a changing strategy for the RIAA in recent months. The organisation decided last month that it would be discontinuing its practice of filing mass lawsuits.

First launched in 2003, the controversial legal tactic involved suing individual users who were believed to have made music available to others free of charge through P2P services and file-sharing sites.

The tactic led to a number of embarrassing cases for the RIAA, such as those filed against elderly women, teenagers and even a family that did not own a computer.

Perhaps the most humiliating defeat for the RIAA, however, came in August when a single mother won her countersuit against the organisation for false accusations.