Students face consequences of digital file sharing on campus

When someone robs Britney Spears, Tim Goth has to deal with it.

As the pop singer might sip champagne in her lavish Los Angeles abode, the University Information Technology Services employee responds to misconduct from his office on 10th and the Bypass.

It’s an eight-to-five job, a task delegated solely to him. And it all begins with an e-mail.

“Sir or Madam: I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America — the trade association whose member music companies create, manufacture and distribute about 85 percent of all legitimate music sold in the United States. If you are a university Internet Service Provider (ISP), you have received this letter because we have identified a user on your network reproducing or distributing an unauthorized copy of a copyrighted sound recording.”

In other words: a student or faculty member on one of IU’s eight campuses downloaded “Toxic” using LimeWire again.

“We’re an instant gratification society,” Goth, who receives multiple notices daily, said. “Some people don’t realize the time and money people invest to make music. Some people just think it’s convenient.”

Last year, more than 2,700 IU network users were caught downloading copyrighted music and movies, according to UITS statistics.

The practice, made illegal by former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, has sent ripples of tension throughout the music industry since Napster euphemized “steal” with “share.”

“It’s a fine line,” Goth said. “We’re trying to raise awareness and respect for boundaries.”

Liz Kennedy, a Record Industry Association spokesperson, said it’s easy not to feel sorry for people such as Britney Spears — she’s already rich, so why should file sharing matter?

“When you illegally download a song online, it has an impact on countless behind-the-scenes players in the music industry,” she said. “Album producers, audio engineers, record store employees and truck drivers — many contribute to creating the music we all love.”

An estimated 12.5 billion dollars and 70,000 industry jobs have been lost because of piracy, she said, citing a 2007 study conducted by the Institute for Policy Innovation.

So, the association sends notices to all sources of illegal downloading that monitors catch. Kennedy said it’s an initiative to prevent offenders from “destroying the dams of tomorrow.”

As a copyright act compliance coordinator, Goth investigates every claim of malfeasance made by the recording association. He’s not the “proverbial man going after the little guy,” he said.

He, too, was implicated in music file sharing only 20 minutes into his freshman year.
“We’re not trying to upset people, just educate them,” he said. “We’re an academic community, and we want students to know how the world works.”

At IU, Goth said every user is innocent until proven guilty by online fingerprints or illegal activity linked to a computer’s Internet protocol address.

Sophomore Kelsey Phillips, who has never been in legal trouble, said she simply wanted music for her new iPod Touch.

A week after downloading Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” from a file-sharing program her freshman year, she received an e-mail from Merri Beth Lavagnino, IU’s chief privacy officer and compliance coordinator.

“My first thoughts were, ‘Oh my god — I’m in so much trouble,’” she said. “Then I had to deal with this big, time-consuming hassle.”

On top of a $50 fine, she was instructed to score 100 percent on a two-hour online quiz covering copyright laws and piracy. Only then could her IU Secure login unfreeze.
Phillips said she learned her lesson, partially.

“I’ll never download at IU again,” she said. “But I may at home.”

Scott Wilson, awareness, training and outreach coordinator and security and policy information manager for the IU Information Policy Office, said universities catch illegal downloading the same way home service providers do.

But students who have been sharing tracks from Mom’s PC since middle school are confused: Why does IU bust me, but not Comcast?

“Private service providers don’t want to bully their customers,” Wilson said. “It’s not their problem, so companies have leeway. They need customers to have confidence in them.”

But, Wilson said, IU is an academic community. Students should graduate knowing how to be a good citizen — online and otherwise.

“We could fine a lot more, but that’s not the point,” he said. “Our remedial efforts have shown results. Students who are caught once are much less likely to illegally download copyrighted materials again.”

Less than 10 percent of IU copyright abusers become second offenders, Wilson said.

Less than 1 percent violate for a third time, which results in a permanent ban from campus networks.

UITS and IU’s Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Program teamed up to devise the remedial program Phillips experienced. The $50 fee, charged with each copyright violation, funds the effort.

Timothy Bagwell, investigator and assistant to the director for student ethics, orchestrates one-on-one conversations between University officials and repeat offenders. Bridging the gap between digital and personal is important, he said.

“Virtually 99.9 percent of the time, the student acknowledges their culpability and responsibility,” Bagwell said. “A conversation is definitely more effective. Students tend to blow off an e-mail, but if they have to have a face-to-face conversation about their behavior, they are much more conducive to hearing what is being said.”

Eventually, all students will leave IU’s network. The myriad of free opportunities online can be confusing for anyone determining what’s off-limits and what’s not, Wilson said.

That’s why the University plans to educate until illegal downloading offenses disappear.

“I don’t think that today’s students’ ethical code allows them to be completely OK with stealing,” Bagwell said. “But, if anything, they actively seek the gray in what, to them, appears to be a very black and white world. If you show them gray, like NY Times online and Pandora, they’re okay with it. Otherwise, they’re not afraid to create it on their own with LimeWire.”