] 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. The Daily Princetonian - New music rules are needed |