Snakedoctor
26.07.07, 15:04
New Bill Mandates Anti-P2P Filters for 'Top 25' Piracy Schools
posted by soulxtc in file sharing // 1 day 21 hours 37 minutes ago 3
votes
vote
Requires the Secretary of Education to annually monitor and review their efforts to prevent "digital theft."
Copyright lobbying organizations apparently have a new big gun in their back pockets - the Senate Majority Leader himself, Harry Reid (D-NV).
An amendment he has attached to the latest reauthorization of the Higher Education Act would require the Secretary of Education to annually monitor and review campus anti-piracy efforts of the country's top 25 notice of copyright violation recipients.
The "Campus-Based Digital Theft Prevention" amendment would require the top 25 piracy colleges who have received at least 100 notices alleging copyright infringement in the previous calendar year to do the following:
1) Provide evidence to the Secretary that the institution has notified students on its policies and procedures related to the illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials by students.
2) Undertake a review, which shall be submitted to the Secretary, of its procedures
and plans related to preventing illegal downloading and distribution to determine the program’s effectiveness and implement changes to the program if the changes are
needed.
3) Provide evidence to the Secretary that the institution has developed a plan for implementing a technology-based deterrent to prevent the illegal downloading or P2P distribution of intellectual property.
The most controversial aspect of the amendment is the mandated P2P filter, the "technology-based deterrent," being that none are 100% effective and run the risk of blocking legitimate P2P software and file-sharing.
“These technologies do not work well,” said Mark Luker, VP of Educause in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. “They are really not ready for prime time and colleges should not be forced to install them.”
He also disagrees with the fact that the problem of widespread file-sharing is suddenly dumped in the laps of colleges and universities rather than in the laps of middle and high schools where the habit really begins.
“Colleges have been working very hard on this issue,” he said, "trying to teach their students about copyright law, adding services that provide free or low cost music downloads, and adding new rules all the time to discourage illegal file sharing. The University of Kansas, for example, has just toughened punishments for those who use campus networks in violation of downloading bans."
What Luker also rightly points out is the fact that some schools will receive more copyright infringement notices than others simple because they are bigger and have a larger student body. It doesn't mean that its network is more of a haven for piracy than others but, simply that it has more people on it.
Also, the copyright infringement notices themselves are flawed and have no legal standard or bearing whatsoever. They're compiled by the entertainment industry in a way that's free of public scrutiny or review and yet, are about to be the benchmark by which the Secretary of Education himself is supposed to act? It's ridiculous to say the least and is a blatant attempt by the entertainment industry to use public resources for private gain.
“This is asking the education secretary to take actions based on information provided by the entertainment industry, and that’s inappropriate for the government and the entertainment industry,” Luker continued.
The RIAA immediately praised Senator Reid in a letter sent to him last Friday, and noted that yet, still "much more can be done." Mitch Bainwol, the RIAA head, said that that campus networks are little more than taxpayer funded means of stealing copyrighted material instead of being used for the academic and research purposes they were intended for.
“Colleges have provided an ideal environment for online theft to thrive, producing a generation of citizens lacking an appreciation for the true value of copyrighted works," Bainwol noted.
However, in a stunning rebuke to the entertainment industry and the RIAA in particular, Kenneth C. Greene of The Campus Computing Project, which studies the role of IT in american higher education, writes:
The comments by Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, misrepresent the RIAA’s own data on who is engaged in illegal downloading and which (broadband) networks are being used for illegal downloading. Some examples: — only 4 percent (329) of the more than 8400 “John Doe” lawsuits filed by the RIAA in 2004-2005 involved college students; the rest were “civilians” using consumer broadband services. — a RIAA news release dated 28 Feb 07 states that “college students are the most avid music fans.” Yet data from the RIAA’s 2005 Consumer Profile reveal that consumers ages 18-24 (including but not limited to college students) account for approximately one-sixth (15-17 pct.) of the music buying population in the United States; in contrast, consumers ages 25 and older purchase two-thirds (66.9 pct.) of all recorded music.— “half” the nation’s more than 16 million college students ages 16-67 are NOT engaged in illegal downloading as claimed by Mr. Bainwol and others from the RIAA.
Directly related to the Reid amendment is testimony before the House Science and Technology Committee Hearing on Digital Piracy on 5 June 2007. All four expert witnesses invited by Chairman Gordon – including Vance Ikezoye, president of Audible Magic, a provider of IT tools intended to stem digital piracy – acknowledged that technology will not solve the digital piracy problem. In his testimony before Chairman Gordon, Mr. Ikezoye stated quite clearly that “technology will never be the entire solution to [P2P piracy].” At the same hearing, Dr. Adrian Sannier from Arizona State University reported that his campus recently spent $200,000 for a heavily discounted site license to use the Audible Magic technology. Dr. Sannier described campus spending on technology to stem P2P piracy as an unwinnable “arms race.”
Consumer broadband providers – telcos and cable companies – promote digital piracy by advertising that home broadband and wireless services provide faster access to “music, movies, and more,” without explaining who owns this content or how to purchase it. Moreover, unlike colleges and universities, consumer broadband providers generally fail to provide any user education about digital content and copyright issues when users establish new accounts. Yet neither the RIAA nor the Congress seems willing to discuss the role of consumer broadband providers in implicitly promoting — or at least condoning — digital piracy.
Reid’s amendment targeting Campus-based Digital Theft Prevention will only serve to force colleges and universities to spend significant sums for ineffective software while imposing additional and significant reporting and compliance costs. The only beneficiary will be the RIAA, which will then report to its members that it has worked with Congress to “do something” to address digital piracy on campus networks.
The RIAA’s almost exclusive focus on campuses ignores the broader and more costly problem of illegal P2P downloading involving consumer Internet service providers and the consumer market.
Ample evidence indicates that requiring colleges and universities to purchase a “technology-based deterrent “ to prevent illegal P2P downloading will be ineffective practice and bad public policy.
He makes an excellent point of why is that the colleges and universities are being singled out and that commercial ISPs and cable companies are given a free pass. I'm not saying that I welcome filtering of consumer networks but, I do find it ironic that some of these big ISP telecom companies complaining about piracy are the same ones trying to sell you ever faster broadband connections. TimeWarner is a perfect example of playing both sides, for while trying to sell me a 900kB/s connection to download music, movies, and all kind of other goodies it also secretly plots to bust me if I try to download any of it illegally.
Moreover, with america falling increasingly behind in the global economy shouldn't we focus on the real purpose of the educational system which is to create future doctors, scientists, and engineers, and not to play accountant for the RIAA?
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8925/New+Bill+Mandates+Anti-P2P+Filters+for+'Top+25'+Piracy+Schools
posted by soulxtc in file sharing // 1 day 21 hours 37 minutes ago 3
votes
vote
Requires the Secretary of Education to annually monitor and review their efforts to prevent "digital theft."
Copyright lobbying organizations apparently have a new big gun in their back pockets - the Senate Majority Leader himself, Harry Reid (D-NV).
An amendment he has attached to the latest reauthorization of the Higher Education Act would require the Secretary of Education to annually monitor and review campus anti-piracy efforts of the country's top 25 notice of copyright violation recipients.
The "Campus-Based Digital Theft Prevention" amendment would require the top 25 piracy colleges who have received at least 100 notices alleging copyright infringement in the previous calendar year to do the following:
1) Provide evidence to the Secretary that the institution has notified students on its policies and procedures related to the illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials by students.
2) Undertake a review, which shall be submitted to the Secretary, of its procedures
and plans related to preventing illegal downloading and distribution to determine the program’s effectiveness and implement changes to the program if the changes are
needed.
3) Provide evidence to the Secretary that the institution has developed a plan for implementing a technology-based deterrent to prevent the illegal downloading or P2P distribution of intellectual property.
The most controversial aspect of the amendment is the mandated P2P filter, the "technology-based deterrent," being that none are 100% effective and run the risk of blocking legitimate P2P software and file-sharing.
“These technologies do not work well,” said Mark Luker, VP of Educause in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. “They are really not ready for prime time and colleges should not be forced to install them.”
He also disagrees with the fact that the problem of widespread file-sharing is suddenly dumped in the laps of colleges and universities rather than in the laps of middle and high schools where the habit really begins.
“Colleges have been working very hard on this issue,” he said, "trying to teach their students about copyright law, adding services that provide free or low cost music downloads, and adding new rules all the time to discourage illegal file sharing. The University of Kansas, for example, has just toughened punishments for those who use campus networks in violation of downloading bans."
What Luker also rightly points out is the fact that some schools will receive more copyright infringement notices than others simple because they are bigger and have a larger student body. It doesn't mean that its network is more of a haven for piracy than others but, simply that it has more people on it.
Also, the copyright infringement notices themselves are flawed and have no legal standard or bearing whatsoever. They're compiled by the entertainment industry in a way that's free of public scrutiny or review and yet, are about to be the benchmark by which the Secretary of Education himself is supposed to act? It's ridiculous to say the least and is a blatant attempt by the entertainment industry to use public resources for private gain.
“This is asking the education secretary to take actions based on information provided by the entertainment industry, and that’s inappropriate for the government and the entertainment industry,” Luker continued.
The RIAA immediately praised Senator Reid in a letter sent to him last Friday, and noted that yet, still "much more can be done." Mitch Bainwol, the RIAA head, said that that campus networks are little more than taxpayer funded means of stealing copyrighted material instead of being used for the academic and research purposes they were intended for.
“Colleges have provided an ideal environment for online theft to thrive, producing a generation of citizens lacking an appreciation for the true value of copyrighted works," Bainwol noted.
However, in a stunning rebuke to the entertainment industry and the RIAA in particular, Kenneth C. Greene of The Campus Computing Project, which studies the role of IT in american higher education, writes:
The comments by Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, misrepresent the RIAA’s own data on who is engaged in illegal downloading and which (broadband) networks are being used for illegal downloading. Some examples: — only 4 percent (329) of the more than 8400 “John Doe” lawsuits filed by the RIAA in 2004-2005 involved college students; the rest were “civilians” using consumer broadband services. — a RIAA news release dated 28 Feb 07 states that “college students are the most avid music fans.” Yet data from the RIAA’s 2005 Consumer Profile reveal that consumers ages 18-24 (including but not limited to college students) account for approximately one-sixth (15-17 pct.) of the music buying population in the United States; in contrast, consumers ages 25 and older purchase two-thirds (66.9 pct.) of all recorded music.— “half” the nation’s more than 16 million college students ages 16-67 are NOT engaged in illegal downloading as claimed by Mr. Bainwol and others from the RIAA.
Directly related to the Reid amendment is testimony before the House Science and Technology Committee Hearing on Digital Piracy on 5 June 2007. All four expert witnesses invited by Chairman Gordon – including Vance Ikezoye, president of Audible Magic, a provider of IT tools intended to stem digital piracy – acknowledged that technology will not solve the digital piracy problem. In his testimony before Chairman Gordon, Mr. Ikezoye stated quite clearly that “technology will never be the entire solution to [P2P piracy].” At the same hearing, Dr. Adrian Sannier from Arizona State University reported that his campus recently spent $200,000 for a heavily discounted site license to use the Audible Magic technology. Dr. Sannier described campus spending on technology to stem P2P piracy as an unwinnable “arms race.”
Consumer broadband providers – telcos and cable companies – promote digital piracy by advertising that home broadband and wireless services provide faster access to “music, movies, and more,” without explaining who owns this content or how to purchase it. Moreover, unlike colleges and universities, consumer broadband providers generally fail to provide any user education about digital content and copyright issues when users establish new accounts. Yet neither the RIAA nor the Congress seems willing to discuss the role of consumer broadband providers in implicitly promoting — or at least condoning — digital piracy.
Reid’s amendment targeting Campus-based Digital Theft Prevention will only serve to force colleges and universities to spend significant sums for ineffective software while imposing additional and significant reporting and compliance costs. The only beneficiary will be the RIAA, which will then report to its members that it has worked with Congress to “do something” to address digital piracy on campus networks.
The RIAA’s almost exclusive focus on campuses ignores the broader and more costly problem of illegal P2P downloading involving consumer Internet service providers and the consumer market.
Ample evidence indicates that requiring colleges and universities to purchase a “technology-based deterrent “ to prevent illegal P2P downloading will be ineffective practice and bad public policy.
He makes an excellent point of why is that the colleges and universities are being singled out and that commercial ISPs and cable companies are given a free pass. I'm not saying that I welcome filtering of consumer networks but, I do find it ironic that some of these big ISP telecom companies complaining about piracy are the same ones trying to sell you ever faster broadband connections. TimeWarner is a perfect example of playing both sides, for while trying to sell me a 900kB/s connection to download music, movies, and all kind of other goodies it also secretly plots to bust me if I try to download any of it illegally.
Moreover, with america falling increasingly behind in the global economy shouldn't we focus on the real purpose of the educational system which is to create future doctors, scientists, and engineers, and not to play accountant for the RIAA?
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8925/New+Bill+Mandates+Anti-P2P+Filters+for+'Top+25'+Piracy+Schools