As Boston University students converge on the Charles River campus this week, most undergraduates will be settling into daily routines characterized by classes, sports practices, trips to the gym and nightly study sessions. For some, listening to music goes hand-in-hand with doing homework, and for many students, learning the information found in books and lecture notes takes precedence over worrying about where their latest mp3 file came from.
The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are trying to change this ambivalence toward illegal filesharing and downloading with a new program designed to pinpoint and reduce piracy on university campuses nationwide, a move that may have BU students reconsidering their methods of obtaining music and movies.
According to an RIAA press release, presidents at 40 universities in 25 states received a letter in April alerting them to Local-Area Network piracy on their campuses. In the letter, the RIAA and MPAA encouraged the schools to implement blocking and filtering devices to detect and control piracy on LAN networks, where students often use illegal file-sharing programs, including ourTunes and myTunes.
RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Hunter said the association was not releasing the names of the 40 universities that were given letters.
“We have evidence that indicates that they have a LAN piracy problem occurring on their campuses,” she said.
A copy of the letter, which was signed by RIAA President Cary Sherman and MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman, stated that the organizations have been aware “of the misuse of the campus LANs” since 2003. Recent growth of LAN networks and piracy on college campuses prompted the new program.
“The perceived security and privacy of these campus LANs give many students incentive to engage in activity they have otherwise learned is illegal and unacceptable,” the letter states.
The letter asks school administrators to conduct an internal investigation of their LANs and advises universities to shut down any abusive, illegal activities. Specific blocking and filtering devices can also help administrators restrict use of campus networks, the letter said.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said he did not know if university administrators have received a copy of the letter from the RIAA and the MPAA, but said BU abides by the law and complies with any subpoenas it receives regarding copyright infringement. He said more than 30 BU students over the past few years have been subpoenaed and have had to retain lawyers in copyright infringement suits.
Office of Information Technology Director Jim Stone said BU has never monitored the internet use of students and has no plans to in the future.
“We expect students entering and matriculating through this university to adhere to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and federal laws,” he said. “These are mature adults now who are going to a university, and we expect them not to break the law.”
Stone said there are a number of vendors who sell equipment that can monitor or filter students’ use of and access to the internet.
“The university’s philosophy, however, is that’s not where we want to put our dollars,” he said. “We expect students to obey law as opposed to us making sure they do that.”