EDUCAUSE | P2P File Sharing

EDUCAUSE, the RIAA, and a Lot of Other People: What I Heard at the Department of Education Hearing in Washington, DC

agould — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:58:30 -0500

Yesterday, the Department of Education hosted the fifth of its six regional hearings on the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). Held in the Department's Washington, DC K street offices, the meeting allowed panelists from the Department to hear feedback and collect testimony from the public regarding how the HEOA's rules should be drafted. People were also invited to submit correspondence electronically if they could not attend.

On Wednesday, the room was packed with more than 70 people representing various organizations. People spoke about an array of issues, including peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), student aid, campus security, learning disabled programs, and accreditation rules. Because EDUCAUSE is taking the lead on the P2P issue, I'll confine my observations to that subject here.

EDUCAUSE Vice President Mark Luker asked that the Department "direct special care to the rules" pertaining to the P2P provisions. He asked that the panel pay attention to the conference report that accompanied the law, since it offers the universities great flexibility. Finally, Luker mentioned that EDUCAUSE has been "directly and intensely engaged" with the entertainment industry, technology vendors, and experts for years in an effort to come up with "mutually acceptable approaches" to copyright infringement issues. Because of this engagement, he asked that EDUCAUSE play a role in the negotiated rulemaking process. (EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger submitted a letter on the P2P issue for the record yesterday. This letter, which was sent on behalf of all EDUCAUSE member institutions, stresses the importance of the rule making process and asks that EDUCAUSE play a part in the process.)

It should also be noted that Don Spicer of the University of Maryland System, as well as representatives from the American Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and the Association of American Universities (AAU) voiced concerns about onerous regulations related to unauthorized copyright infringement. Spicer in particular emphasized that "flexible rather than prescriptive rules" would be necessary for applying the law.

"The conferees clearly understood the diversity of American higher education and the need to develop rules that are flexible enough to allow varied institutions to deal with the problem and to meet the expectations of the law as appropriate to their local needs," Spicer said in his testimony.

But the education community was not alone in speaking about P2P. Representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and Universal Music Group attended the hearing as well. They concentrated on four main points: 1) Strong acceptable use policies are needed, 2) Universities need to enforce those policies, 3) Technology is needed for blocking unauthorized content, and 4) Universities need to offer legal alternatives. They argued that technology solutions will ultimately save money for institutions. As evidence, they said the Universities of Utah and Florida each saved over $1 million when they installed Audible Magic and Red Lambda, respectively.

Universal Music Group Executive Vice President Matt Gerson told the panel that the vast majority of schools have not implemented technology for curbing copyright infringement. He dismissed bandwidth shaping, saying that the technology is oftentimes turned off at night, allowing students to download unauthorized content during the early morning hours. Gerson said copyright infringement has "taken its toll on the economy," and he questioned how serious universities were about actively enforcing their acceptable use policies.

Stuart McLaurin, the MPAA representative, asked that his organization and "others interested in protecting intellectual property" have a place in the negotiated rulemaking process. He also said using technology would send a clear message to students, a sentiment echoed by Gerson. Gerson said young adults need to realize that "stealing is stealing."

Students Flock to Web Sites Offering Pirated Textbooks

ckeller — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:41:45 -0500

A new survey of students found that about a quarter of them reported hunting for an illegal copy of a textbook from pirate Web sites.

The survey was small—only about 500 students from two colleges—but it is one of several indicators that downloading unauthorized textbooks is becoming commonplace at college campuses.

P2P and the Higher Education Reauthorization Act: Next Steps

ckeller — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:59:45 -0500

Congress recently passed H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, a massive piece of legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act that the President will soon sign into law.

This legislation imposes an array of new federal regulatory and reporting requirements for colleges and universities. Two of these provisions are designed to reduce illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on campus networks. These and many other provisions of the Act go into effect when the President signs the bill. Institutions must take their obligations under the Act seriously and make a good faith effort to comply--as they would with any new federal law. But the law is unclear in certain respects, and ambiguities will need to be clarified through the regulatory process.

In this Webcast, the speaker will discuss what the law will require, what happens next, and what you should do now.

EDUCAUSE Holds Webcast on P2P Provisions in the Higher Education Act

agould — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:16:39 -0500

This afternoon, EDUCAUSE held a Webcast featuring Terry Hartle, the Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at the American Council on Education. Hartle discussed the peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing provisions in the recently passed Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization, which became law last week. An archive of the hour-long discussion is featured on the EDUCAUSE Connect web site, under the tab "HEA Webcast."

There are two P2P provisions included in the law. Section 485 relates to information that educational institutions must provide students, and section 487 relates to a program participation agreement, which includes certain requirements for combating infringement. For more information, please see EDUCAUSE's P2P page, which features specific details on these two provisions.

Besides agreeing to warn students about copyright infringement and the penalties and policies related to it, colleges and universities must also certify that they have a plan to combat unauthorized use. According to Hartle, the HEA's report language affirms that technology-based deterrents can be an effective solution, but the law remains technology-neutral. Furthermore, bandwidth shaping and traffic shaping appear to qualify as a technology-based solution. Significantly, institutions retain the authority to determine their plans for compliance.

Hartle says the U.S. Department of Education will most likely not aggressively go after schools until the final rules are established and published. Since that process might take up to two years, he says schools must make a "good faith effort" to comply with the law in the meantime. He expects that final rules will not be published until November 2009, which would result in their not being fully implemented until July 2010. When discussing possible penalties for not complying with the law, he said schools might have to pay a $25,000 fine or possibly face having their federal student aid funds cut (though he says the latter is rather draconian and unlikely).

The Department of Education will be holding four regional meetings this fall as part of their "negotiated rule making" process and may consider an additional two later, says Hartle. The locations and dates for scheduled meetings are as follows:

Texas Christian University, September 19
University of Rhode Island, September 29
Pepperdine University, October 2
Department of Education, Washington, DC, October 8

He said if you are unable to provide feedback at any of these meetings, you should submit a letter to the Secretary of Education. This is especially important given the fact that the entertainment industry will certainly make their voice heard during the proceedings.

August 21: EDUCAUSE to Host Free Webcast on P2P Provisions in the Higher Education Reauthorization Act

cluckett — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:01:06 -0500

On August 21, at 1:00 p.m. U.S. eastern time, EDUCAUSE will host an hour-long webcast featuring Terry Hartle from ACE discussing the P2P provisions in the recently passed Higher Education Reauthorization Act. For details and connection instructions, visit the EDUCAUSE Connect P2P File Sharing resource page—select the "HEA Webcast" tab under Featured Content.

This webcast is open to the public at no charge, and no registration is required. Afterward, it will be archived and freely accessible.

EDUCAUSE Prepares Joint Association Memo on P2P Provisions in the Higher Education Act

cluckett — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:56:02 -0500

Congress recently passed H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, a massive piece of legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act that the President will soon sign into law.

This legislation imposes an array of new federal regulatory and reporting requirements for colleges and universities. Two of these provisions are designed to reduce illegal uploading and downloading ofcopyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on campus networks. These and many other provisions of the Act go into effect when the President signs the bill. Institutions must take their bligations under the Act seriously and make a good faith effort to comply--as they would with any new federal law. But the law is unclear in certain respects, and ambiguities will need to be clarified through the regulatory process.

EDUCAUSE, along with ACE, AAU, and NASULGC, has prepared a memo summarizing what the law will require, what happens next, and what institutions can do now. The memo also includes the relevant portions of the act, as well as the report language that accompanies and clarifies the law.

Browse related EDUCAUSE resources on peer-to-peer filing sharing.

EDUCAUSE Releases Statement on Unprecedented FCC Net Neutrality Ruling

cluckett — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:17:25 -0500

Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 in favor of adopting an enforcement action against Comcast for violating the Commission's principles on an open and accessible Internet.

EDUCAUSE has released an official statement about the ruling:

"EDUCAUSE applauds the FCC for exercising its responsibility to ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all forms of legal content and applications. Millions of students, teachers, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs and educators depend upon having the freedom to transmit and receive information over the Internet without artificial constraints by providers of broadband circuits. The Internet has become an essential and low-cost tool for learning and research. We are pleased that the FCC has taken this step to ensure that the Internet serves the needs of the American public."

Access more information, including the letter EDUCAUSE submitted to the FCC in response to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) filing. Browse related EDUCAUSE resources on Net Neutrality and P2P File Sharing.

EDUCAUSE Takes Action on Higher Education Act

cluckett — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:29:42 -0500

EDUCAUSE has joined other organizations in signing a letter from the American Council on Education to U.S. congressional leaders about requirements in the House and Senate joint committee report of the final version of the Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization. The letter applauds certain provisions of the HEA but cites the drawback of “an extraordinary number of new reporting and regulatory federal requirements,” including those addressing peer-to-peer file sharing.

The EDUCAUSE analysis focuses on two principal requirements that will be challenging for higher education institutions: (1) that every college and university will develop “plans to effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including…the use of a variety of technology-based deterrents”; and (2) that institutions “will, to the extent practicable, offer alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property, as determined by the institution in consultation with the chief technology officer or other designated officer of the institution.”

The analysis finds that these provisions are, respectively, weaker and stronger than what the higher education community was seeking in earlier drafts of the legislation, requiring each institution to carefully interpret the legislation’s language in deciding how to comply, assuming the legislation is enacted.

Browse related EDUCAUSE resources on P2P File Sharing.

FCC Votes on the Comcast/BitTorrent Issue Tomorrow, and EDUCAUSE Enters the Fray

agould — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:45:34 -0500

Tomorrow the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to hold a meeting to adopt an enforcement action against Comcast for violating the Commission's principles on an open and accessible Internet. In a preliminary vote last Friday, it was determined that at least three of the five commissioners will officially vote against the cable giant tomorrow.

The three commissioners voting against Comcast agree that the company violated federal rules by slowing certain kinds of Internet traffic, specifically peer-to-peer applications. It is believed that the FCC will demand that Comcast stop blocking or slowing traffic, but will probably not issue a fine. Last November, the FCC received a complaint stating that Comcast was deliberately blocking certain file-sharing services. Comcast, however, has said it did not violate any federal laws and moreover, the FCC does not have the authority to enforce its net neutrality principles. It is expected that Comcast will challenge the decision in court.

EDUCAUSE has submitted a letter to the FCC in response to a letter that the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) submitted for the record in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. In their filing, the NCTA says cable companies should have the right to manage their networks the same way they claim universities and colleges do. In other words, they say that any regulations "must apply equally to all providers," including higher education networks. They also argue that universities already engage in network management practices that restrict traffic. I

EDUCAUSE, however, says universities are considered private networks that are not subject to the regulatory authority aimed at public networks like Comcast. They also say that while universities may have the right to block certain kinds of traffic, there is no evidence that the higher education community is actively stifling Internet communications.

House Passes the HEA Conference Report

agould — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:05:52 -0500

EDUCAUSE just learned that the House of Representatives approved the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization this afternoon. Passing overwhelmingly by a vote of 380-49, the legislation is expected to receive Senate consideration later today.

For EDUCAUSE analysis on the peer-to-peer file sharing component of the bill, please click here.