] Author: Fred von Lohmann is a senior staff attorney
] at the Electronic Frontier Foundation

] Suing college students. Forcing ISPs to rat out
] customers. Petitioning Congress for unprecedented
] vigilante powers. Deploying armies of lawyers to sue
] technology companies. Threatening universities and
] corporations. Demanding that ISPs disconnect tens of
] thousands of Internet users. Hiring electronic enforcers
] to monitor computer users.
]
] None of these efforts by the recording industry has
] put a single nickel into the pockets of a musician. And
] none of these efforts has slowed the spread of
] peer-to-peer ("P2P") file sharing. More Americans have
] used file-sharing software than voted for the President.
]
] But we are paying a price. Responding to pressure
] from the entertainment industry, the University of
] Wyoming is now monitoring and recording all university
] Internet traffic. One hundred Naval Academy cadets have
] been disciplined for file-sharing. Investment in
] innovative P2P companies has dried up. Some members of
] Congress, addled by a steady diet of propaganda and
] campaign contributions from the entertainment industries,
] have suggested that the answer might be to expel, or even
] jail, college students. Music fans are frustrated and
] alienated from the musicians they love.

Goes on to propose a PRO style payout system driven by ISPs collecting money from Internet access costs.