UK mom sued for child's file-sharing

Sylvia Price, mother of a 14-year-old file-sharer and "self-confessed computer illiterate," received a letter demanding 4,000 pounds (about $7,300) "in compensation by solicitors acting for the music industry," The Guardian reports. She is not alone. The letter was part of the third wave of legal actions in the UK taken by the recording industry trade group there, as well as the more than 10,000 lawsuits filed against file-sharers in the US. Mrs. Price told The Guardian she didn't know where she was going to get the money. Her daughter told the paper that she didn't know her file-sharing was illegal - everybody at school was doing it. She had downloaded 1,400 songs for free, but she said she thought she'd been "picked on" because her computer was always on and the songs are her hard drive were available to other file-sharers. The $7,300 is apparently a settlement charge; Price "has until July 1 to pay the BPI [British Phonographic Industry] or face a civil action." I wonder if UK citizens can join a US class-action suit (see "Family sues P2P service")? Meanwhile, litigation is making it tough for some online music retailers too. One of the world's oldest cheap-online-music sites, Weblisten.com in Spain, has shut down "after years of legal battles with record labels," CNET reports.