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Student file sharers get ‘burned’
BY SUZANNA CYR
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
The Record Industry Association of America, RIAA, has been cracking down especially hard on a few students who were allegedly caught file sharing last year on the UMD campus network.
File sharing is the exchange of files from one computer to another. Usually songs and movies are shared illegally through Web sites including but not limited to: LimeWire, BitTorrent or Ares. Students often misunderstand that you are not able to turn of the file sharing software when on the campus network.
Three UMD students of the 300 caught sharing files received “Pre Litigation Notices” stating that they needed to pay a settlement or go through a lengthy and costly court battle. The settlements on average were around $3,000 but the RIAA can sue for up to $750 per song illegally downloaded.
Sending out 300 hundred warnings here on campus is a large jump from the previous year when only 30 were sent to students. Since school started two weeks ago, six students at UMD have already received the warning.
When asking around campus, the Statesman found that most students did not consider file sharing to be stealing. Many admitted that technically it was illegal but did not see the wrong in it.
“It’s something that is so commonly done that it’s not thought of as stealing,” UMD freshman Athena Westin said.
Although there appears to be little concern in the student body, the issue is pressing.
This is becoming a priority to record labels and most of the targeted universities are cooperating fully with the RIAA, according to an article in the Duluth News Tribune.
The crackdown started earlier this year with 13 Universities. These schools were targeted because they received the most copyright complaints from the RIAA. They were encouraged to act aggressively on the issue.
“We’re the middle man here. We’re just passing this information on,” information technical manager at UMD Sally Bradt said.
Students are often caught file sharing by the University first and will usually receive a warning via e-mail. When the student continues to file share, the RIAA sends out DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) “cease and desist” notices to the Universities, which are forwarded to the students.
Most Universities have their own punishments for the crime. UMD will disconnect the Internet of the student downloading illegally, according to Bradt. Students may not get their Internet back up and running until they speak with ITSS and agree to stop file sharing.
Since the first 13 sought out by the RIAA, 50 schools have been targeted and asked to turn over the names of the students who have been file sharing on the campus network.
While most schools have been passing the information on to students, some school such as University of Kansas are choosing to not cooperate with the RIAA’s requests.
There are alternatives to downloading illegal music. iTunes and Napster both offer music to purchase at a low cost. Ruckus is a University sponsored music Web site that allows you to download music for free. The only downfall is that you cannot transfer the music onto an MP3 player.
The consequences are becoming tremendous when file sharing on a campus network. Not only will you have trouble with the RIAA but with UMD as well. According to UMD rules “Multiple offenses result in referral to the Office of Student Behavior.”
Suzanna Cyr is at
cyrxx013@d.umn.edu
