At the age of 15, Mike Vivian, OU business junior, began exploring the online world and discovered something amazing. It was a way to access his favorite music, movies and games, all for free.
As Vivian grew older and more attached to the never-ending supply of content on the Internet, he understood that it could all be taken away from him.
By being cautious about where and what he downloads, Vivian, like many others, has avoided any consequences for his downloading habits.
"I’m not really afraid of getting in trouble for it,” Vivian said. “I’ve been doing it for so long and never had any problems or close calls.”
But with renewed efforts from leaders of Internet Service Providers(ISPs), representative trade groups like the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA), government officials and universities around the country, illegal file-sharing has become an important issue students need to educate themselves on, said Tyler Coker, UOSA Legal Counsel Assistant.
“There are people out there who have been forced to settle with these big trade groups for ridiculous amounts,” said Coker. “I’ve heard $20,000 per song in some cases.”
New federal guidelines in place call for educational institutions to have, “developed plans to effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including through the use of a variety of technology-based deterrents,” according to section 493 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.
Here at OU, under guidelines from the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, a network was designed with enhanced security features to combat online piracy. Named OUWiFi, the new network will make it impossible to access popular Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs such as LimeWire, said Nicholas Key, OU IT network specialist.
Without P2P traffic taking up bandwidth on the OU network, there will be more available for legitimate users to access. This could mean faster load times, less network maintenance and less down time, Key said.
OUWiFi is immediately available for students to access. The old network, ANY, will only be online through the winter break, when it will transfer status to OUGuest. This network will serve with limited accessibility options for guests to access the Internet, Key said.
A perk of the network switch is that if a computer is lost or stolen, network registration will allow OU IT to track it down. IT specialists can also contact an individual if he or she contracts a virus that threatens other users on the network, Key said.
While the network makes it impossible to access some P2P programs, others will be unblocked, said Key.
Peer-to-Peer programs like LimeWire allow for a user to access a vast network of files, including illegal movies, music and games. P2P program activity accounts for the most online traffic worldwide, according to an Internet study conducted by the German research company Ipoque in 2008-2009.
Not on the OU network list of banned P2P programs is BitTorrent.
This popular file-sharing program has attracted students because it is easy to find content and many clients using the Torrent protocol have ways to encrypt or block your personal IP address, said Sean Kramer, OU business junior.
“A friend got me involved in a private, invite-only online community of people who share files with each other,” Kramer said. “They have pretty much anything you ever wanted posted on there.”
With new network comes new policy change
Under the old rules, students were required to negotiate a settlement with copyright representatives directly per the amount of content being charged against them. The complaint would then be sent to the OU Legal Counsel, which would assist in representing the students, Coker said.
“OU Legal Counsel has no part in representing the students anymore. It has all been transferred to the IT department,” Coker said.
The new policy calls for students who receive a copyright complaint against them to be punished under OU disciplinary action, not copyright owners or their representatives, according to the OU IT security web site.
OU does not monitor content individual users on the network download, but there is a unique imprint left by that user on the server or computer it connects with, Key said.
“Copyright owners or their representatives, such as the RIAA, will capture these imprints and send a copyright violation notice to OU with the information gleaned from that imprint,” Key said. “IT is then bound legally to do due diligence in identifying the individual associated with that particular computer.”
First time offenders on OU campus will be blocked from the network until that user has completed a copyright tutorial and quiz, as well as pay a $25 minimum reconnect fee. If a user is found in violation a second or third time, the minimum fee rises to $50-$200 dollars and the infringer is referred to the office of student conduct for a student code violation, according to the IT security web site.
Off-campus residents not safe, either
Students illegally downloading music, movies and games from their off-campus residence may be subject to penalties as well.
A copyright notice may be sent to an individuals’ Internet Service Provider(ISP), calling for disrupted service and fines, said Christine Martin, communication director for Cox Communications in Oklahoma City.
“Cox has it set up so when an individual is notified of the copyright violation, the service is cut off,” Martin said. “To get it restored, he or she can come to our office to sign a statement informing them of the violation and pay a reconnection fee.”
Chris Lindner, off-campus Penn State senior, received a notice from his ISP this June that his service would be terminated for a Family Guy episode he had downloaded off of a public Torrent site. After contacting his ISP, Comcast, the representative told him the Music Picture Association of America(MPAA) would pursue legal action against him if his access was not cut off.
“I didn’t really know what to do. I ended up paying the bill and switching to Time Warner,” Lindner said. “I guess I was lucky.”
When asked about his downloading tendencies these days, Lindner was quick to say how careful he is.
“It’s not really worth the risk. I stopped using all the P2P and Torrent programs I had before,” Lindner said.
More than 1,500 copyright notices have been sent to OU students in 2009, Key said.
A global problem
Piracy of music, movies, games and software is costing the recording industry billions. The U.S stands to lose 12.5 billion in total output annually as a consequence of global and U.S-based piracy, according to a report done by the Institute for Policy Innovation.
Governments and universities around the country are adopting strict policies to combat illegal downloading because they realize the importance it can have not only on the artists who produce the music, but the economy as a whole.
The problem has stretched across the globe, and can be seen in full force in France. According to the 2009 International Federation of the Phonographic Industry(IFPI) digital music report, in May 2008, a total of 13.7 million films were distributed on P2P networks, compared to 12.2 million cinema tickets sold.
A solution?
There are many legal alternatives for downloading content from the Internet. If paying for music isn't for you, OU offers a large list of places to listen for free.
Universities like OU, as well as the government, are changing their policies to combat the illegal practice of downloading music, movies and games.
These policies will only get more restrictive and punishable as broadband Internet use becomes more widespread.
By developing a National Broadcast Plan, the Federal Communications Commission hopes to expand broadband Internet access to every American. The plan will put broadband Internet access at the focal point of Congressional discussion when the FCC delivers its' formal report on February 17, 2010, according to the National Broadcast Plan web site.
No matter what authorities plans to do to curtail illegal downloading, the people who operate the underground networks of file-sharing will always be a step ahead, Kramer said.
"They can do whatever they want to try to stop it," Kramer said. "But the proliferation of the Internet has created a generation of people who simply refuse to pay for certain content."
Hear detailed comments from OU students Mike Vivian and Sean Kramer:
