Rich Fiscus
26 Aug 2007 19:27
A University of Tennessee student is attempting to quash an RIAA subpoena issued as part of the music industry's war against on-campus file-sharing. Doe #28 is taking a different tack than other defendants have, arguing that providing the information sought by the RIAA would violate his right to privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Doe #28's argument is that the information the RIAA is asking for qualifies as private as educational recods, and since he hasn't waived the right to keep those records private the university has no right to release the information to the RIAA or anyone else.
The problem with this approach actually seems fairly straght forward. Although educational records are generally considered private, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act does allow records to be released to comply with a judge's order or subpoena. In other words, unless the subpoena can be shown to be unlawful the school is required to release the information over.
The subpoena follows the same tactics record companies have used for other cases involving college students. That process gave all defendants in the case 15 days from the time they were served with the subpoena to file an objection. So far no other defendants have joined Doe #28 in his fight.
Source: Ars Technica