James Delahunty
13 May 2007 18:16
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