RIAA, MPAA to subpoena 25 students
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) last week announced a new wave of lawsuits against students. Both have cited Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with Tech students in their claims.
These suits are directed at users of i2hub, an application available to users with Internet2 access. Primarily used by college students, Internet2 links various American universities and corporations by means of a superior high-speed connection.
According to Tech Chief Legal Advisor Randy Nordin, the MPAA sent a letter to Tech with notification of suspected illegal file sharing on campus. The letter was followed shortly by a filing from the RIAA.
Nordin said the filing "is one huge complaint, and I mean literally about six inches of paper." He said the complaint was directed at 25 Tech students, all unnamed at this point. Rather, it lists 25 IP addresses associated with Tech.
Nordin said the address list is preliminary and that the same IPs may or may not be cited on the subpoena when it comes.
Still, some students have discovered that their IP addresses have been targeted in this round of lawsuits by way of an unofficial listing found at www.slapm.com/files/checkip.php, a site that one Tech student who has used the i2hub found from a link at www.trendyblog.com.
"On the list online, I'm number one," he said. The student asked not to be identified. "I shared 35 gigs, sure, but I was barely on there."
"From my understanding, it seems that they're targeting random students on i2hub," he said.
According to him, one of his friends, whose IP has also been implicated, only shared eight gigs of files for one night, yet others he knows that share more have not been noted by either the RIAA or MPAA.
Nordin said he has been contacted by students who have seen their IP addresses on the unofficial list. He said he cannot be sure that list is accurate, however. "I'm telling them that I can't really tell them much, because I haven't seen the actual list," he said. "As soon as I get the subpoena, I'll be able to get the final list and tell them what I know."
Nordin said that Tech will "almost certainly" have to release the names of students associated with the implicated IPs once the subpoena does come, which Nordin expects will be this or next week. He added that the legal department will notify students that they are giving their contact information out.
The legal department will also send students contact information to possibly find legal representation, though Nordin said students may seek to settle directly with the RIAA or MPAA if they choose to.
Still, Nordin said, "Just the fact that they've been named in a lawsuit doesn't mean they did anything wrong."
The Tech student who found his IP address online said his friend contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on his behalf. In a response email, the EFF noted www.subpoenadefense.org as a defense resource for those named in these subpoenas.
The email also indicated that RIAA cases are typically settled for an amount between $2,500 and $5,000, with little room for negotiation.
"I'm probably not going to fight it," the Tech student said. "I'm probably going to.settle." He said that he and other students and administrators he has contacted are waiting on further official word before making any final decisions.
The EFF further noted that some students have contacted them with concerns regarding how the RIAA accessed the i2hub to gather their information. The EFF, however, said the RIAA would not reveal its investigation techniques.
Nordin advised students to be cautious in their online activity. "The industry is going to become more and more active in these kind of lawsuits, and they apparently have very good software for tracking people," he said. "So my advice would be stop doing it if you're doing it."
