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Volume CXXXIII, Number 13 |
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Administration adopts strict downloading policy
ALEC SCHLEY
STAFF WRITER
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| A student downloads his favorite songs on an online music sharing network. The administration plans to revoke internet privileges for students who illegally download copyrighted material. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
In an attempt to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which states that it is illegal to download copyrighted material over the internet, Bowdoin has adopted a formal policy to combat online music piracy.
The new policy states that the IT Department, if it learns that a student is illegally downloading copyrighted material, will hand the student's case over to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.
Previously, cases of movie and music piracy were handled directly by Information Technology. The Dean's Office will then ask the student to delete his or her illegally-downloaded files.
If the student does not comply and continues to illegally download copyrighted material, he or she faces the potential loss of internet access from his or her personal computer. The offending student will, however, still be allowed the use of the internet in any computer laboratory.
Mitch Davis, Chief Information Officer in the Department of Information Technology, feels that the new policy is a fair one that adequately accommodates the demands laid out in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. The new policy serves as a measure to prevent both college administrators and students from facing lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
In past months, the RIAA has made headlines with an onslaught of lawsuits filed against college-age students who illegally downloaded music and movie files. To date, no Bowdoin student has faced a lawsuit by the RIAA.
While Davis says that illegal music downloading at Bowdoin has declined since the fall semester, he has doubts as to whether or not students truly grasp the potential consequences of online music piracy.
Davis said, "After talking with a number of students, I have come to believe that most of them don't understand why [illegally downloading copyrighted material] is such a big deal. They know it is wrong but they seem to weigh the risk of getting caught against downloading all the music they want for free. For many of them, free music wins out over the fear of getting caught."
Members of the student body, however, seem more apprehensive about music piracy than school administrators might be lead to believe.
Senior Phillip Estes said that the string of RIAA lawsuits and the threat of punishment from the Bowdoin administration prevents many students from downloading music and movies. "I've talked to several people that are afraid to download even a few songs," said Estes.
Kurt Martin '04, however, agreed with Davis, with a few reservations. Martin said, "Most of the people I know who are still downloading are those who never downloaded much in the first place, and they figure that their collections are small enough that they won't draw attention."
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