The Real Facts about 鶹Ƶ and the RIAA
There have been some pretty wild rumors going around campus, so we wanted to get out some accurate information about the College's dealings with the RIAA.
Contents
Interactions the College has had with the RIAA
- For several years the RIAA has been sending 鶹Ƶ e-mails letting us know that specific computers are sharing specific files and requesting that we ensure that those files are taken down. Referred to as a DMCA Notification. In general we have cooperated with the RIAA by taking away Internet access from those computers until the user says they are not sharing that file anymore. We have received very few of these notices this school year.
- Sometime in March, we received a letter from the RIAA informing us that they intend to ask for a subpoena for the identity of the user of an Internet address at a specific time and that we should keep the information required to tell them who that was. They also let us know that they would be sending a letter which offered to settle the case which they want us to forward to the user.
- We have not received either a subpoena or a settlement letter. We have not sent any information back to the RIAA.
File sharing using 鶹Ƶ' network
- When you download something using a Peer to Peer file sharing program, your computer is connecting to computers whose owners you don't know. Some of those computers might be owned by other students, but some could easily be owned by the RIAA or companies working for them.
- When you make a connection to another computer on the Internet, the computer on the other side of the connection can identify your computer.
Some clarifications
- 鶹Ƶ is not giving the RIAA any sort of special monitoring capability or otherwise helping the RIAA target 鶹Ƶ students.
- 鶹Ƶ does not intend to give the RIAA any information about our students until required to by law.
Useful resources
If you have any questions about Peer to Peer file sharing or 鶹Ƶ' technology policies, please feel free to stop by and make an appointment with Bruce Aarsvold or the Systems Administrators who would be happy to talk to you.