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More students caught in war on file sharing

13 May 2007 18:16 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 14 comments

As the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) continues its war against Internet piracy, more and more college students have been targeted and the trade group plans to target even more. Hundreds of students have again been sent e-mails threatening lawsuits if they do not settle out of court. Sarah Barg of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) was accused of illegally downloading and sharing 381 tracks using the Ares client.

She initially thought the e-mail was spam, as it offered her the chance to make a settlement or face tough legal action. However, student legal services confirmed to her that the e-mail was in fact real and that she faced an expensive decision. "Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it," Barg said.

Her parents coughed up the $3,000 settlement fee to avoid a lawsuit. "I don't know what I would have done. I'm only 20 years old," Sarah said. UNL freshman Andrew Johnson also settled for $3,000. "They're targeting the worst people," he said. "Legally, it probably makes sense, because we don't have the money to fight." He was forced to pay the settlement from his college fund and now has to work three jobs to get back the money. However, the RIAA firmly believes that these legal threats are an educational tool.

"Any student on any campus in the country who is illegally downloading music may receive one of these letters in the coming months," said Jenni Engebretsen, an RIAA spokeswoman. "It is important to send the message that this is illegal, you can be caught, and there are consequences." She warned that just one illegal download could lead to a lawsuit.

Barg is still angry about how she was targeted. "Technically, I'm guilty. I just think it's ridiculous, the way they're going about it," she said. "We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job." Perhaps the RIAA is targeting students simply because it is a new way to make headlines. The attack on sharing of music on P2P networks by the general population, kicked off around 4 years ago now, has not substantially effected the growth of music sharing and failed to scare P2P users.

Source:
Yahoo

Permalink to this article

Oregon Attorney General takes on RIAA over subpoena (6 November 2007)

Stanford will charge reconnection fee for P2P users (17 May 2007)

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Discuss this article!
akaangus (Member) 13 May 2007 18:20
Maybe all these headlines will reinforce safe sharing - keeping off P2P like Gnutella and FastTrack and taking precautions like PG2. Remember kids, always use protection! [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 13 May 2007 22:54
Originally posted by akaangus: Maybe all these headlines will reinforce safe sharing - keeping off P2P like Gnutella and FastTrack and taking precautions like PG2. Remember kids, always use protection! I was going to write something but i feel you said everything for me. :) [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 14 May 2007 1:29
Well. the RIAA are at it again... jeez this really does my nut in. simply becuause where were the morals when we were paying �20 per CD, �20+ per dvd...they were sittigng in their big leather sofa's laughing at us... and now we get smart and realise that "HEY, i aint paying those fees" or "HEY why wait when i can have it now" this isnt about the morals of breaking the law (and i am sure i am not the first one to say this) its about the money they are "losing" taking students to court, how low can these people go. i am a student and let me tell you we don't have that kind of cash. whats next, single baby mothers and the elderly...BULLIES [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14 May 2007 1:29
craftyzan (Member) 14 May 2007 1:46
Emule/Amule comes with IP filtering for a reason! LOL! For that matter so do many Torrent programs! Thataway, you can attatch your privacy protection right into the client... [ + quote]
AlmostOz (Junior Member) 14 May 2007 2:09
poor people, they are getting targeted because they can't afford to challenge the lawsuit so they are forced to settle [ + quote]
johnarama (Inactive) 14 May 2007 4:23
These poor students obviously have never heard of encrypted file-sharing. edited by ddp [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6 June 2007 12:19
natony (Junior Member) 14 May 2007 6:06
So, a 3k fine for these students. Obviously they won't be able to buy any music/video for a long time. And their friends will feel resentment towards any form of commercial media. Which leaves me wondering. After the RIAA or MPAA sue the f*** out of everyone... who will be left to buy their POS products? Seems they are on track to destroying their own industry. [ + quote]
AXT (Member) 14 May 2007 7:54
The RIAA is like a cornered animal desperately trying to defend itself. [ + quote]
eandtc (Newbie) 14 May 2007 13:08
"So, a 3k fine for these students. Obviously they won't be able to buy any music/video for a long time." Took the words right out of my mouth. This will just make others more careful about trading music. As folks get smarter about what software to use, it gets harder for the RIAA. This isn't going to stop the trading at all. [ + quote]
Unfocused (Member) 15 May 2007 17:08
Legal threats as an educational tool? Sounds like when Dad used to say that eating all the food on my plate builds character. How much income has the RIAA made at $3000 a pop for these lawsuits? [ + quote]
madman91 (Junior Member) 19 May 2007 10:13
LOL Good one. They just got owned by the RIAA. :D [ + quote]
ZzeusS (Junior Member) 20 May 2007 5:20
She made a mistake in admitting guilt. Claim it's a spyware program or something. Make them fight you. It's like when you get pulled over. Admit nothing. [ + quote]
seb32 (Member) 20 May 2007 11:33
it's hard to prove anything when it comes to stuff like this, but when you admit that you did it... [ + quote]
dlm2090 (Newbie) 20 May 2007 16:08
It is never good advice to tell someone it is ok to lie and cheat. I like a person who owns up to what they have done, and admit it is wrong. But I still think it stinks that big companies can do this to people, heah, you only get a small fine for parking violations, and even littering isn't $3000. People are gready and it certainly is not justice. Yes, Pay for what you use. or abuse. But there must be some honest way to fight what they are doing. Some organization to help those sued. Some company that will stand up for the poor kid, and why should the parents pay. It stinks [ + quote]