Illegal file activity continues

By Christen Cabe

A crackdown continues against illegal, peer-to-peer Internet file sharing on campus this year, stemming from complaints by the recording and movie industries.

According to Dean for Student Life Matthew Duncan, 34 complaints were filed on students violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act last year. And just four weeks into the school year, one notification of unauthorized file sharing activity has already been reported.

While most students may assume that the network is a safe and anonymous place to exchange information, students still face the consequences of illegal activities, officials say.

Since the DMCA was passed in October 1998, colleges and universities that provide Internet service to their students, faculty and staff have had to find ways of protecting the institutions, themselves, and the users of their services.

This act guards Internet service providers against copyright infringement liability when they transmit information.

When Santa Clara receives a notification of an illegal exchange of copyrighted information, the Information Technology staff locates the offending user's name and password under the Santa Clara network and reports it to Duncan.

Such punishments can include written apologies, setting up copyright infringement awareness programs within one's residence hall and even terminated Internet access in the case of repeat offenders. The Internet connection isn't restored until IT has ensured that the student's computer is free of all other illegally obtained files.

Santa Clara relies on the students themselves to distinguish what is appropriate use of file sharing software like Kazaa, LimeWire and Morpheus. Student Technologies Service Manager Ross Dykes believes that students have a grasp of what constitutes illegal use of file sharing programs but that they choose to ignore it.

"We know that they're probably being used for things they shouldn't be," Dykes said.

Santa Clara manages Internet traffic, allotting bandwidth for different university applications. E-mail servers are the No. 1 priority, followed by faculty, staff and then student academic needs. Entertainment is the lowest priority, meaning that such usage is the slowest during times of heavy Internet traffic.

The management of Internet traffic and the prioritizing of academic Internet usage is not uncommon. Dykes says that this practice is typical of universities , such as the University of Texas, Princeton and Stanford.

Santa Clara is surprisingly lax about its security policy compared to some universities. Washington and Lee University, for example, has completely banned the use of peer-to-peer file sharing software on computers attached to the university network. Dykes says that the incidence of written complaints by organizations like the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America is rather low at Santa Clara.

In a DMCA notification letter, it is explained: "The RIAA is a trade association whose member companies create, manufacture, and distribute approximately 90 percent of all legitimate sound recordings sold in the United States."

Because of its position, the RIAA is obligated to monitor downloads and act on behalf of associated artist in matters regarding copyright infringement. Such organizations do this by requesting that access to illegally downloaded files be disabled and that the service provider assist in stopping unauthorized activity.

A student that participates in this practice faces the possibility of lawsuits and penalties up to $150,000 per unauthorized file, which has not happened to a undergraduate student here.

Dykes estimates about 40 notifications of claimed infringement per year, none of which has resulted in a suit.

There have been no repeat offenders among undergraduates, and only one repeat offender among graduates. Ironically, this student was attending the Santa Clara School of Law at the time.

Santa Clara has never completely blocked peer-to-peer programs, as they do have recognized functions for research and academics. Some universities, such as Penn State, have gotten ahead of the curve.

Duke University this year has awarded students their own iPod, pre-loaded with orientation information and the academic calendar. According to the Duke News and Communications Web site, "the iPod distribution is part of a pilot program between Duke and Apple Computer, Inc., that will be evaluated after a year."

Already several courses at Duke -- including language, music, and poetry courses -- have begun to use peer-to-peer sharing technology to distribute course-related content and to aid in the recording of field interviews.

However, Duke recognizes that a majority of peer-to-peer activity involves copying music and video files for entertainment purposes.

Duke encourages students to configure peer-to-peer applications so that network resources are shared fairly, strictly enforces copyright laws, and stresses the value of anti-virus software in protecting students' computing systems.

Unlike Duke, Santa Clara doesn't have the resources to spend money on something that not all students would necessarily use. Senior Jessica Wray says only listens to vinyl and has no need for peer-to-peer musical sharing.

Senior Lindsay Mcklveen agrees.

"It interferes with the process of learning because you are depending on a machine to make the extra effort that students should be making themselves," Mcklveen said. Dykes think that Santa Clara could only fund this by digging into tuition money, which he says would this would not only be unfair to students like Wray and Mcklveen, it would also interfere with Santa Clara's idea that tuition money should be used strictly for the education of the student and to help pay for faculty and staff.