Copyright is acceptable- going after people through the net is not. Users have an expectation of privacy (most users think they are anonymous, and are/can be for the most part) and the law should recognize the complexity of the internet and networks because they are going on a wild goose chase anytime they go after somebody based on an IP address.
The US government even had credit card records in the largest criminal case against child porn users in the US and were unable to identify users. Of the 35,000 people who were attacked many committed suicide and a mere 100 were prosecuted. Clearly the internet does not provide enough to justify probable cause let alone evidence of a crime.
A state funded university should not be babysitting students or censoring network traffic as they do. The law is clear that universities are not responsible for content being transfered since they are acting as an ISP. The law only requires that they respond to take down requests for content on servers they control. The university does not have control over students personel possessions or computers, thus they are under no obligation here. They are in fact protected under the DMCA and other federal statutes. Universities are prohibited from releasing student information to the RIAA under privacy statutes regarding students rights.
The big problem is not what is being transfered, but how the networks have been configured and are being paid for. The shared resources should be equally divided like ADSL- not like most cable internet services. The other option is to charge based on bandwidth usage. Students should not be firewalled, forced to install non-free software, or censored in any way. Many universities are doing all three. Students should be opting in and paying separate fees for internet services in the dorm room. Most universities make students do this for telephone, cable TV, and other services. Why not internet access?
The other thing I can tell you from my experiences with IT is that the problems exist almost solely in the dorms, and not on the academic networks (assuming they are divided this way). I can tell you that free uncensored, unfirewalled, capped internet access can still be provided in academic buildings without significant burdens on IT. I have been very active in my universities information technology issues and found everything I've said to be very true in practice.
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Copyright is acceptable- going after people through the net is not. Users have an expectation of privacy (most users think they are anonymous, and are/can be for the most part) and the law should recognize the complexity of the internet and networks because they are going on a wild goose chase anytime they go after somebody based on an IP address.
The US government even had credit card records in the largest criminal case against child porn users in the US and were unable to identify users. Of the 35,000 people who were attacked many committed suicide and a mere 100 were prosecuted. Clearly the internet does not provide enough to justify probable cause let alone evidence of a crime.
A state funded university should not be babysitting students or censoring network traffic as they do. The law is clear that universities are not responsible for content being transfered since they are acting as an ISP. The law only requires that they respond to take down requests for content on servers they control. The university does not have control over students personel possessions or computers, thus they are under no obligation here. They are in fact protected under the DMCA and other federal statutes. Universities are prohibited from releasing student information to the RIAA under privacy statutes regarding students rights. The big problem is not what is being transfered, but how the networks have been configured and are being paid for. The shared resources should be equally divided like ADSL- not like most cable internet services. The other option is to charge based on bandwidth usage. Students should not be firewalled, forced to install non-free software, or censored in any way. Many universities are doing all three. Students should be opting in and paying separate fees for internet services in the dorm room. Most universities make students do this for telephone, cable TV, and other services. Why not internet access? The other thing I can tell you from my experiences with IT is that the problems exist almost solely in the dorms, and not on the academic networks (assuming they are divided this way). I can tell you that free uncensored, unfirewalled, capped internet access can still be provided in academic buildings without significant burdens on IT. I have been very active in my universities information technology issues and found everything I've said to be very true in practice.