The recent RIAA lawsuits have once again brought the grim realities of file sharing to the forefront of everyone’s attention. This time, 28 students have been hit, and many fear more subpoenas are to come. The Student Senate, swept up in the moment, is considering implementing a mandatory file sharing service next fall in an attempt to shield students from further lawsuits.
While practical in achieving what it wants to do, this decision must not be made hastily, and efforts to gather student opinion are doomed to failure as the burden of final exams and projects draws ever closer. The Senate should consider delaying its decision until next semester, when a better understanding of campus opinion can be gathered, and when the panic from the lawsuits has died down.
If the funding for the service is to come from the Union activity fee, students who have no interest in downloading music will be forced to pay for those that do. What is more problematic, some students, due to their choice in computers or software, may be unable to use the service at all. Popular music sharing programs are not compatible with all operating systems, hardware, and music players.
If the service is implemented, it should be available to all students, regardless of their operating system or architecture. Many services use “Digital Rights Management” which limits when and how the files can be used. This is a major drawback for some and the type of DRM implemented by a service should be carefully considered. Range of selection should also be a concern; if the service does not have what students want, they will resort to illegal file sharing—defeating the purpose of the program.
It is important that students provide feedback to the Senate concerning this issue, even if it is a plea for more time. A decision representing the majority opinion of the student body cannot be made by the end of the semester. Forcing students to pay for a service they do not want to protect others who have, in effect, broken the law, is not something the Senate should consider lightly.
