> IP address information was designed to route traffic on the Internet, not serve as an identifier for other purposes.
I think you're going to have a hard time here convincing a jury or judge with this argument. In general LOE isn't concerned with the intentional of what an IP address was meant for. At least with today's ISP an IP address can be a reasonable approximation of a person or persons.
It is not a reasonable approximation of a person or persons. That's the point.
An IP address is merely an end point to some internet traffic. There's a nearly infinite number of reasons why traffic could originate from an IP that was not initiated by the current responsible party. Anything from hacked machines to clever redirects to shared IPs to just plain network trickery.
It is so ambiguous at this point that you can't even make an analogy that it is like a home housing a dozen people. Because even in that situation it just means there's n more devices that could've been hacked and they've shared their wifi with n more guests.
An IP address by itself should never be used for anything but starting an investigation. For a warrant it had better be surrounded by corroborating evidence.
I totally agree with you in principle. However, ultimately the EFF is the one making the argument and I don't personally believe it's going to convince a judge and a jury.
And it's important to sometimes be skeptical, because if they use this argument in a trial and lose then it sets a precedent that can be used in future cases.
And the prosecuting attorneys have plenty of examples where IPs successfully led directly to the perpetrator of a crime. Think of all of the people who have been arrested and prosecuted for online crimes and took a plea bargain.
It's a very uphill battle. I wish the EFF all of the best luck (I myself am a contributor and believer), but I don't think they're going to make much progress with this one.
I think you're going to have a hard time here convincing a jury or judge with this argument. In general LOE isn't concerned with the intentional of what an IP address was meant for. At least with today's ISP an IP address can be a reasonable approximation of a person or persons.