Got Junkmail? No. Just Blackmail.
The RIAA is getting more and more belligerent in their copyright enforcement tactics - they're sending emails to college students demanding they pay large sums of money or get sued for downloading free music.
This is nothing but legalized extortion - CORPORATE TERRORISM.
Pretty soon they'll be throwing students behind bars for sharing their dreams.
At first, Sarah Barg thought the e-mail was a scam.
GOOD GUT INSTINCT! It is a scam!
Some group called the Recording Industry Association of America was accusing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore of illegally downloading 381 songs using the school's computer network and a program called Ares.The letter said she might be sued but offered her the chance to settle out of court.
Barg couldn't imagine anyone expected her to pay $3,000 — $7.87 per song — for some 1980s ballads and Spice Girls tunes she downloaded for laughs in her dorm room. Besides, the 20-year-old had friends who had downloaded thousands of songs without repercussion.
"Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it," Barg said.
But Barg's perspective changed quickly that Thursday in March, when she called student legal services and found out the e-mail was no joke and that she had a pricey decision to make.
Barg is one of 61 students at UNL and hundreds at more than 60 college campuses across the country who have received letters from the recording industry group, threatening a lawsuit if they don't settle out of court.
"Any student on any campus in the country who is illegally downloading music may receive one of these letters in the coming months," said Jenni Engebretsen, an RIAA spokeswoman.
Barg's parents paid the $3,000 [!!!] settlement. Without their help, "I don't know what I would have done. I'm only 20 years old," she said.
At least 500 university students nationwide have paid settlements to avoid being sued, Engebretsen said. Students who don't take the offer face lawsuits — and minimum damages of $750 for each copyrighted recording shared if they lose.
What a racket!!!
UNL officials have been told 32 more letters are on the way. At least 17 UNL students who did not take the settlement offer have been sued, according to the RIAA, although the university has been asked to forward only five subpoenas.But the students coughing up the cash question why they're the ones getting in trouble.
"They're targeting the worst people," UNL freshman Andrew Johnson, who also settled for $3,000. "Legally, it probably makes sense, because we don't have the money to fight."
Johnson got his e-mail in February, with the recording industry group's first wave of letters targeting college students. He had downloaded 100 songs on a program called LimeWire using the university network.
The money to settle came from the 18-year-old's college fund. He'll work three jobs this summer to pay back the money.
Johnson compares what he did to people driving 5 miles per hour over the speed limit.
"It's not like I downloaded millions of songs and sold them to people," Johnson said.
But just one song can bring a lawsuit, Engebretsen said.
"It is important to send the message that this is illegal, you can be caught, and there are consequences," she said.
The industry realizes attitudes need changing, and money from the settlements is reinvested in educational programs schools and other groups can use to spread the word that song sharing can have severe consequences.
Why do they HATE our freedom so much???
Because it prevents them from EXTORTING billions and billions of dollars from people around the world.
Why do people fall for the crap that sharing music freely is immoral???
In the off chance that they might become a famous songwriter and have the chance to make obscene profits.
It's like the lottery that everyone plays but almost no one wins.
Some of the programs are tailored to start with third-graders.[!!!]
"We do recognize that by the time students reach college, many of their music habits are already formed," Engebretsen said.
Earlier this month, members of Congress sent a letter to officials from 19 universities, including UNL, asking for information about schools' anti-piracy policies.
Now, you know who they work for - not the people, but the corporations.
According to the letter, more than half of college students download copyrighted music and movies. The information requested is intended to help assess whether Congress needs to advance legislation to ensure illegal downloading "is no longer commonly associated with student life on some U.S. campuses," the letter says.
Barg is still angry about her letter from the recording industry group, which she calls bullying. But she agrees sharing music is common, and that other students don't understand the consequences.
"Technically, I'm guilty. I just think it's ridiculous, the way they're going about it," Barg said. "We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job."
Thankfully, most human beings are born with their own moral compass.
Authorities can tell them as often and as forcefully as they can what is "right" "wrong" "immoral" or "fair" but ultimately, if it's NOT, our conscience steers us towards what is.
Barg thinks the university should send an e-mail to all students, warning them that the recording industry won't look the other way.
As campus clears out for the summer, UNL officials are considering launching a new educational campaign in the fall.
"If we can do anything to help educate [read: INDOCTRINATE] students about what illegal file-sharing is, we're willing and interested in doing that," said Kelly Bartling, a university spokeswoman.
Bartling said no one wants students to have to worry about how to pay tuition because of an expensive settlement. "It is a hugely expensive lesson," Bartling said.
Johnson, the UNL freshman, doesn't think the threats from the recording industry group are going to solve the problem. Friends who know he got in trouble still share music online.
"People are still going to do it until they get caught, and they can't catch everyone," Johnson said.
Let's face it - the copyright system is a disaster. The results are incredibly inequitable and the costs of enforcement both in time, money and human suffering is enormous.
And stories like these are just the beginning - pretty soon enforcement of this colossal scam will be completely untenable, which is a good thing because IT MUST STOP.
Human beings were BORN to copy.
They were BORN to share.
Anyone who tries to convince you that it's immoral to exercise those God given rights simply wants the power to extort money from hundreds of millions of people on earth.
In theory, Copyright hides behind 'rewarding creativity' but in practice it does NOTHING but feed CONTROL, POWER and GREED.
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Thanks, Skore Ed
This story is an RIAA plant. The RIAA is mostly run by Jews, who use the Jewish-owned MSM to circulate lies like this.
RIAA spokes-entity Jenni Engebretsen claimed that, “at least 500 students nationwide have paid settlements to avoid being sued.”
Right. Sure. Individual students? We’re not talking about a commercial enterprise, or a networked clearinghouse like Napster. This story is a bunch of lies, designed to make all individuals afraid.
The RIAA is rapacious and tyrannical, and issues propaganda like this all the time, but it can only enforce copyrights through civil law, not criminal law. It must sue in civil court, prove material damages, and win. Then it must petition the court for monetary redress.
“Students who don't take the offer face lawsuits — and minimum damages of $750 for each copyrighted recording shared if they lose.”
Nonsense! The RIAA would have to prove malicious and willful disregard of copyright laws on the part of every individual in every circumstance. Even if it could prove this court (highly doubtful), collecting would be another matter. Again, we’re talking private individual victims here. Notice that the RIAA did not threaten the university, since it knows the university would win hands down.
If any individual kid ever went to court, the RIAA would lose. I use Limewire at home sometimes, and I welcome threats, preferably in writing so I don’t have to buy toilet paper. How can the RIAA prove my malicious and willful intent to violate copyrights?
“They're targeting the worst people," said UNL freshman Andrew Johnson, who also settled for $3,000. "Legally, it probably makes sense, because we don't have the money to fight."
Gimme a break! This makes it seem that the kids admit they have done “wrong,” and that only the “worst violators” are threatened. Pure propaganda.
"Technically, I'm guilty,” one student allegedly said.
Bull S***! Like the moneychangers, the RIAA wants everyone to think it has “right” on its side. Just as a person who lends money at interest becomes “morally superior,” the party that holds a copyright becomes “morally superior.” Nonsense.
"We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job."
Gee whiz -- it’s not the RIAA’s fault; it’s the legislators’ fault. What garbage.
The RIAA is a bunch of greedy bastards that use propaganda like this to maintain their status as national tastemakers. They decide which music groups get recording contracts, what music gets played on radio stations, which music gets promoted, and so on. They exploit a copyright system so corrupt it cannot be reformed; it must be eliminated.
“Some of the programs are tailored to start with third-graders.”
Oh come on! If I were a parent with a third grader who received a threat from the RIAA, I would ignore it, or immediately sue for harassment. So would any parent. You’re threatening my baby? Give it your best shot, motherf***ers. The story makes it seem that parents readily pay for what the RIAA claims is the kids' "wrongdoing." LIES!
“At least 17 UNL students who did not take the settlement offer have been sued, according to the RIAA, although the university has been asked to forward only five subpoenas.”
Who got sued? When, where, and for what reason? Who won? These would be matters of public record, but no such public information is given. This is the kind of lies and propaganda the RIAA depends on.
MY POINT:
When we become enraged, we come across as frightened, frustrated, and afraid. Such anxieties are contagious.
The best way to fight the copyright disease is to be clear about what it can and cannot infect, thus dispelling the RIAA's scams and illusions.
People used to think leprosy was an all-powerful force until they understood it as a disease that was easily controllable through knowledge, reason, and proper hygiene.
QRS is correct . . . to destroy the RIAA disease, we must destroy the sewer from which that disease spreads, which is the copyright system.