Well, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is at it again. LAWSUITS! Only this time they have targeted 407 college students across 18 universities. The RIAA has sent out letters to these students stating they have proof of theft of music and they can go to a P2P lawsuit web page to settle with the organization before going to court. I most certainly don;t encourage anyone to steal music, in fact, I believe they should pay for it. Personally, I have a subscription service so that I can download all I want to my MP3 player, but I have to pay if I want to burn it or transfer it of my PC. This works perfectly for my needs, as I only want mine portable. If only iTunes would adopt this business model.
Now according to Cara Duckworth, spokesperson for the RIAA, "college students have reached a stage in life when their music habits are crystallized, and their appreciation for intellectual property has not yet reached its full development." She went even further to say that college students used to be music's biggest fans, But not any more because they don't honor intellectual property rights. They pirate music, therefore they are not fans? I don't get it.
These are people who are of age to vote, got to war, etc., but they cannot make certain distinctions because they are "underdeveloped?" Give me a break.
Additionally, the RIAA has been able to insert specific wording in the College Affordability and Opportunity Act Bill, which will punish universities from obtaining federal funds of the student financial aid if they don't force students to sign up with subscription services and/or buy songs. I smell Racketeering. Since when is it our government's responsibility to assist companies in ensuring their revenue streams? This is wrong!
Speaking of wrong, AT&T announced that it is considering filtering technology to "catch" copyrighted material from being pirated on their network. There is not a law that states they are responsible for monitoring the world wide web. They are a network provider not Big Brother. What about legitimate sharing? Will this be filtered "in error"?
This type of behavior is dangerous ground. It goes completely against having a free, uncensored, internet or the concept known as "net neutrality". AT&T had last summer bleeped out portions of the Pearl Jam performance at Lollapalooza Webcast , (Eddie Vedder changee some lyrics which were unflattering to George Bush) which they stated it was a mistake by an overzealous contractor hired to monitor things.
Should AT&T decide to become a pioneer in a network based solution to piracy, I believe this will lead to even more censorship in the future.
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