According to the Columbus Dispatch , Ohio State University is #1 in music piracy.
Music piracy is illegal - a felony violation of copyright laws.
There's a few quotes from the Dispatch that I'm having problems with:
"The industry sends complaints when it thinks a specific song has been illegally traded by a computer user on a particular campus."
"If there are multiple cases tracked to a particular user, the industry threatens to sue unless the user settles."
"The industry sends complaints when it thinks a specific song has been illegally traded by a computer user on a particular campus."
"The trade group relies on the school to have the song in question removed."
How do they know this to be true? From all indications, it appears as though the Recording Industry Association of America has (1) wiretapped the students computers (2) wiretapped OSU's computer network or (3) wiretapped the file sharing network.
Additionally, there have been cases across the Nation where individuals have received notice from the RIAA that they are liable for many thousands of dollars because they've illegally downloaded songs. How did the Recording Industry Association of America know this to be true?
I'm not in favor of piracy, or any other sort of crimes, but least of all, but when push comes to shove, I abhor 'end runs' around the Constitution, be it by business or Government.
I have the knowledge to tap into your computer, if I felt the need. I have the ability to tap into the computer networks of Jeep, City of Toledo and Mercy Hospital, but to do so would subject me to felony charges. The Government, whether it be Local, State of Federal, can wiretap your computer, but not without a warrant based on probable cause!
So that leaves me with the question How does the RIAA get away with illegal wiretapping and violations of the 4th and 14th Amendments?
I saw a similar article on the drudge report the other day...very bothersome.
A regular customer of mine had a simlar problem with his son down at OSU a couple years ago --- settled out of court for close to $100,000 with no jail time!
P2P file sharing networks are scary...for one, parent companies of some broadband networks also own record labels, media giants, etc, and monitor bandwidth hoggers, especially when P2P sharing is involved...they record IP addresses in databases and get court orders to make ISPs reveal membership information for lawsuits, etc.
They are probably just getting the statistics from ISPs that monitor P2P file sharing and comparing reserved public IPs for those universities
look forward to other comments on this subject, as it interests me :) good night for now!
posted by Action on Jul 10, 2008 at 02:06:06 am #