File sharing lawsuits target college students

The Recording Industry Association of America wants to know what goes on in your house, at… The Recording Industry Association of America wants to know what goes on in your house, at your computer. Through your Internet service provider, the RIAA wants to find out what you’ve been doing late at night, on-line, looking at files you’re not supposed to.

Calm down, all you furries and “Bejeweled” junkies.

But be worried if you have downloaded music files through KaZaA or a similar peer-to-peer server.

On Monday, the RIAA filed 261 lawsuits against people who downloaded music files, an act of what it sees as copyright infringement. The RIAA feels that music falls within its domain, and the files are, therefore, the intellectual property of both the industry and the artists.

Under copyright law, violators can be fined $750 to $150,000 per file, though the average lawsuit of the kind settles at $3000 total, according to a Sept. 9 article in The New York Times.

College students comprise the largest group of downloaders, in part because they have access to high-speed connections that pipeline resources, porn and music to them. Resultantly, they are in danger of being taken to court for their illegal activities.

Loopholes in these laws exist. Based on Pitt’s policies, if students keep their shared-file folders empty, they’re not in imminent danger. Similarly, because this round of lawsuits already identified its defendants, if there are no subpoenas in your mailbox, you’re probably good for now.

The question then remains: are these lawsuits justifiable?

Taking music, criminally or otherwise, did not begin with the Internet. After each technological advance – cassette tapes and VCRs – lawsuits arose to challenge the new and freer, but less regulated, ways of distributing property.

Furthermore, bootlegs of concerts have circulated for years. As any Bob Dylan or Grateful Dead fan will tell you, some of the best tracks aren’t released on albums – they come from fans taping their shows.

Bootleggers can be prosecuted, but much like jaywalkers, they are usually left alone. What most downloaders are doing is a form of uber-jaywalking, participating in a crime they see as victimless.

The RIAA claims that it is the victim, because as the number of downloads goes up, record sales decline. Still, given that CDs cost around $18, many say that they are driven to download because of limitation of funds and selection.

In essence, the RIAA is criminalizing its potential customers, suing them in order to destroy their – illegal – competition.