Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

RIAA Cracks Down on Internet2 File Sharing

Posted by Zonk on from the looking-for-love-in-all-the-wrong-places dept.

Daverd writes "Hundreds of students at 18 universities nation-wide have had lawsuits filed against them by the RIAA for filesharing over Internet2." The official RIAA Press Release and commentary at MSNBC is also available. From the article: "i2Hub has been seen as a safe haven, and what we wanted to do was puncture that misconception," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA. "This has been a subversion of the research purposes for which Internet2 was developed."

24 of 633 comments (clear)

  1. Queue "They Have no Right" posts by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, we all hate the *AA's but they were breaking the law, and bastardizing a research network.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    1. Re:Queue "They Have no Right" posts by Zutfen · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Those ~5-8 mb files are like shooting BB's down an aircraft hanger!!

      Seriously, if I had "Internet2" at my disposal, I could most certainly find something more productive (6 CD Linux install in a few seconds? Yes please.)or at the very least more illegal to do with it than download a lot of crappy music!

      --
      I'm too lazy to enter a sig. Hey wait a second! You tricked me!
    2. Re:Queue "They Have no Right" posts by Ingenium13 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I am a student at the University of Pittsburgh, and all traffic from residence halls, no matter what it is, is automatically routed over the Internet2 when it is to another university. We do not have an upload cap for this traffic. For all traffic to the "regular Internet", if a connection is made to us, our upload and download speed over that connection is limited to 500 bytes/second or slower. This makes tasks such as AIM Direct Connect useless, and even useful features such as SSH are almost too slow for use. However, any Internet2 traffic, even as an incoming connection to me, runs at several MB/sec upload and download (essentially the full 100mbps connection).

      I2hub is used extensively here, and there has been no issues with bandwidth that I am aware of. If it was an issue, the university has shown they have the capabilities to put restrictions in place. Personally, I use i2hub to get legal files (such as Linux ISO images or the TV show that aired last night that I missed, though this is controversial) because the download speed is so fast.

      This is not abusing the research network; rather, it is using a network with extreme amounts of bandwidth that would otherwise go unused.

    3. Re:Queue "They Have no Right" posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Umm, no, it's not our future network - IPV6 is intended to fix the "current internet" for a long, long time - and we will have the main internet upgraded piece-by-piece until it matches the speeds of I2.

      I2 is *only* for educational and experimental use - it should be a place where people at universities can access a site and get a fairly accurate opinion, not "my mama told me that nukular power is bad" and such crap. More importantly, it should not have SPAM, viruses, spyware, and other malware on it at all. True, the no viruses thing is a pipe dream, but if there is no commercial activity, there is no common person on it. I don't have access to it, and I don't *want* access to it. It is the modern-day equivalent to a school library, except it covers a great many schools.

    4. Re:Queue "They Have no Right" posts by pilgrim23 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually this IS a research project! For years scientists have pushed poor mice through mazes with little to show (for the mouse), but some cheese and confusion. Here we shoot MP3's down a digital pipe and log the time it takes for "Weasels In Suits" (tm) to come sniffing for money. The abstract for the eventual paper resulting from this might finally explain some of the more perplexing issues surrounding weasel in suits behavior... The paper could have graphs for such things as: "press conference exposure ratio". You could maybe do a full study on the number of times names are reused in Word documents ( W.I.S. are notorious for failing to clear mark-up changes in Word documents). I see doctoral thesis material written large all over this..

      --
      - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
  2. Who didn't see it coming? by isd_glory · · Score: 5, Informative

    Who didn't see it coming? It was bound to happen.

    You just cant keep 100 TB of files "hidden" for all that long. Considering all the press it got last year, I'm surprised it has even lasted even this long.

    Also, don't forget our friends in the MPAA. In a short post by the author of the news.com.com article: "According to the RIAA, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) will be announcing similar action later today."

    In case you don't read the article, here are the universities in question: Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Drexel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at San Diego, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Southern California.
    Go RIT!

  3. So... by ayn0r · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...RIAA was concerned about that Internet2 wasn't used for research only, and 'decided to help'. How kind of them...

  4. Re:true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    well screw you, I'm gonna go make an Internet3. With gambling and hookers.

  5. Official i2hub press release by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is also an official press release from the people at i2hub, here: http://press.i2hub.com/i2hubpressrelease-4122005.p df.

    i2hub doesn't host any files centrally, nor do they keep any indexes of files on the network, so they should be fine. P2P lives on another day.

  6. What I'd like to know is... by nebaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How did the RIAA get access to Internet2 to begin with?

    --
    Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
  7. What is Internet2? by John+Seminal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there a second internet, or is it something like bittorrent or some small group that runs on top of the internet? Is it like what the french have?

    --

    Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

    1. Re:What is Internet2? by BacOs · · Score: 5, Informative

      About Internet2

  8. It was wrong but still.... by TsukasaZero · · Score: 5, Funny

    "This is Lars Ulrich, drummer of Metallica. Last week, he purchased a gold plated shark table to be installed in his basement club. But because of file sharers, he has to wait another week. This is the home of P. Miller, his wife, and his 4 year old son. All little TImmy wanted was an island in French Polynesia with giraffes and wild horses running free. But this year, he'll have to settle for his own island in the Bahamas with white Siberian tigers." -South Park, changed a bit. The students did do wrong though. 19535^13 megabits per second should not be used to share One Night In Paris.

  9. Queue.insert(this); by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I believe you meant to say:
    "Yes, we all hate the *AA's *AND* they were breaking the law, and bastardizing a research network."

    The RIAA is not an academic/research institution, and therefore had no business being on the I2 to monitor file sharing activity in the first place. They were abusing the network and probably breaking laws governing access to restricted computer systems to be on there at all.

    But of course we all know it's perfectly all right to break in to other peoples' private networks, as long as you've got plenty of money and lawyers and lobbyists to back you up.

    1. Re:Queue.insert(this); by rizzo420 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      i've heard rumors (note these are only rumors) that they have recruited students at various colleges to monitor file sharing networks, probably giving them access to the tools they use and probably bribing them as well.

      --
      please me, have no regrets.
  10. Doubtless from on of the instutions by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm sure the bribed/threateded/etc one of the I2 instutions to let them snoop traffic. What may be interesting is if someone chooses to fight these lawsuits. It may well be against the university's privacy policy to do what they did. I looked at ours, and letting any thrid party, except law enforcement with a warrant, monitor the network would be a violation.

  11. Invites? by tektek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does anyone have any invites for Internet 3?

  12. RIAA Internet2 access by bkissi01 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Back in November of '04 the RIAA petitioned to become a member of the Internet2 community. I don't know if they ever got their own network connection, but I remember them asking for one.

  13. Re:true by kenthorvath · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Not necessarily. I don't see any reason why i2 couldn't be used to develop secure, anonymous, and impervious to lawsuit P2P networks, a lá freenet (but maybe with a more "gnutellish" interface). But then, architectural issues aside, I'm sure that no publicly funded research is undertaken for the sole purpose of copyright infringement. Here's hoping that there is other stuff on that hub that (legally) justifies its existence.

    On a related note, anyone who hasn't read Lawrence Lessig's "Free Culture" and has strong oppinions on the topic of filesharing and copyrights owes it to themselves to read this wonderful book. It really gives alot of background to the debate, and puts to rest alot of myths that the major copyright owners would have you buy into. More info at Lessig.org.

  14. The Problem Is Solved by kingjosh · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Ok, there is a way to beat this cartel at their own game. It's like diamonds, similarly run by cartels. You see, when a person gives their whole life mining nice, beautiful diamonds, they get only pennies . . . the pay for the people actually producing the diamonds is very little. The cartel that runs the industry, and the owners of the diamond companies make all the money.

    Music, unlike diamonds, does not rely on a natural resource. I've yet to figure out why the hell people just don't switch to independent music. You'd be amazed at how good this type of music really is. You can go to a show for $0.00 to $10.00, RECORD it if you want, TRADE it at will usually, and the MAJORITY of the money goes to the artists!

    The key here is that the MUSIC INDUSTRY is SUING the people IN COLLEGE who should simply REVOLUTIONIZE the industry! Go to your local jam band concerts, frequent the college shows, screw the big labels, use your own mind and broaden it. If the money goes independent, then so will the artists. And the artists who want to keep making sixty cents for every ten bucks their parent company makes can go right ahead. They're done getting my money.

  15. MPAA "sniffing" is a laughingstock (repost) by me+at+werk · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Too late! MPAA "sniffing" is a laughingstock.

    I work for a research institution. We have an Internet 2 connection. I'm the security guy, and (as if that ain't enough work) I sysadmin the mail exchangers, including maintaining anti-spam and anti-virus there. If you send email to the abuse or postmaster addresses at our site, I get it. If you send email to our domain contact about a security or abuse matter, he forwards it to me, and I answer it.

    We get complaints every once in a while from the MPAA or their lackeys, claiming that some host on our network is sharing copies of movies -- The Matrix, Harry Potter, Star Wars: Revenge of George Lucas's Crack Pipe ... you name it.

    Here's the funny thing: they're all wrong.


    I'm not doing all the work for you, click the link.
    --
    For context, click Parent.
  16. Re:No Cal-Tech?? by vivin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or how about:

    Harvard Student: Ladies and gentlemen of the supposed jury, The RIAA's attorney would certainly want you to believe that I downloaded copyrighted material through the internet2. And they make a good case. Hell, I almost felt pity myself! But ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider: Ladies and gentlemen this [pointing to a picture of Chewbacca] is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk, but Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now, think about that. That does not make sense! Why would a Wookiee--an eight foot tall Wookiee--want to live on Endor with a bunch of two foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense!

    And so on and so forth...

    --
    Vivin Suresh Paliath
    http://vivin.net

    I like
  17. Carnegie Mellon Article and Email by ekmo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here is an article about the issue that was published in yesterday's edition of The Tartan, the student newspaper of Carnegie Mellon, one of the universities targeted by the RIAA. There was also an editorial written about the issue. (Note: The Tartan's website cannot be rendered in Internet Explorer. Please use a standards-compliant web browser.)

    Also, below is the full text of an email that was sent to all students on April 4 from Carnegie Mellon's Chief Information Officer Joel Smith.

    -------- Original Message -------- To: The Carnegie Mellon Community
    From: Joel Smith, Chief Information Officer
    Subject: Illegal use of copyrighted materials on Carnegie Mellon's network - your *personal* liability
    Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2005 22:33:47 -0000

    We are writing to remind the entire campus community of the University's commitment to the protection of intellectual property and copyrighted material. When it comes to illegal copying of digital materials - whether music, video, text, or pictures - the University imposes its own penalties (disciplinary action, loss of network connectivity) on anyone who is found to be using Carnegie Mellon's network for such purposes.

    Moreover, the trade organizations that are charged with protecting copyrighted materials, e.g. the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), are aggressively searching for copyright violators on the Internet and *will take independent legal action against such violators.* Peer to peer file sharing activity using the Carnegie Mellon network is accessible to their monitoring. Past actions by these industry associations have resulted in substantial monetary penalties imposed on the individuals involved. See:

    http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2003/05/ 02/news/8154.shtml

    In fact, according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, penalties can range from $750 to $150,000 per song if songs are the items being distributed illegally.

    Please be aware that the target of these actions is not the University, but rather the individuals engaged in the violations. As an Internet service provider, following the results of court rulings last year, the University is obliged to respond to subpoenas from organizations like the RIAA and the MPAA requesting the names of individuals who operate computers illegally sharing copyrighted materials. Do not be misled by the fact that Verizon, as an Internet service provider, won its case for not providing user names in response to certain kinds of "John Doe" subpoenas. The ruling allows the RIAA and the MPAA to discover the identities of copyright violators from Internet service providers (including universities) as long as they follow certain legal procedures.

    Simply put, if you are engaged in illegal use of copyrighted materials (usually done by peer-to-peer file sharing using programs like Kazza, LimeWire, BitTorrent, and others) and the University receives a proper subpoena asking for the name of the person who registered the computer being used for such purposes on the Carnegie Mellon network, we are legally obligated to supply that name. The result may well be that the RIAA or MPAA will take legal action against *you*. There is nothing the University can do to shield you from such action.

    Since your identity on the network is based on the match between your name an the IP address and *MAC* or *hardware* address of your computer, it is a very good idea to be sure that all and only the computers you physically control are registered to you. You can check the list of computers you have registered to your name using Computing Services' NetReg system. Go to http://netreg.net.cmu.edu, click on the Enter button at

    --

    | Ceci n'est pas une pipe.
  18. How many UMass students does it take... by Spunk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Considering that UMass is indeed listed, I have to wonder if you're a product of that institution. :)