Since Napster has been closed, many other filesharing networks have appeared, and the recording industry has no control over them anymore. It's almost impossible for them to shut them down, so all they can do is to go after the users of filesharing networks.
One of their recent projects was sending letters to Universities to warn them that students were using the networks of the educational institutes to swap pirated music. An organistation in the UK, The Electronic Privacy Information Center EPIC), is now launching a counterattack against Hollywood's efforts to crack down on student file-swapping.
The privacy advocacy group is sending letters to presidents of colleges across the country, asking them to think before they install monitoring tools on university networks. |
"Monitoring the content of communications is fundamentally incompatible with the mission of educational institutions to foster critical thinking and exploration," EPIC wrote. "Monitoring chills behavior and can squelch creativity that must thrive in educational settings."
EPIC's effort comes in response to attempts by the entertainment industry to pressure colleges into curtailing file swapping. Last month, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sent letters to more than 2,000 colleges, warning them that students were using school networks to trade illegal file copies. Although the letter did not overtly threaten legal action, it did ask the schools to make a "substantial effort" to stop such trading.
Many universities also have fast networks, so they are likely a good place for file swappers indeed. Read the entire story here.
Source: ZDnet.co.uk
