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August 12, 2008, 09:19 AM ET
Music-Piracy Sleuths Are Illegal Private Eyes, College Complains
More colleges are bucking back against the music industry’s anti-piracy campaign. Central Michigan University last week filed a complaint against the industry’s investigators, charging that they were acting as unlicensed private eyes in violation of Michigan state laws, according to the Saginaw News.
As The Chronicle reports this week, other colleges have tried different tactics recently in attempts to resist identifying students for the industry, which then threatens to sue the students. The software used by the industry reports only the numerical Internet address of an alleged music pirate, not the name of the person assigned that address by a college or other Internet-service provider.
Central Michigan’s complaint, filed with the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth by the office of the university counsel, is against MediaSentry, the company used by the Recording Industry Association of America to identify students who may have illegally downloaded music. The university asked the company to cease and desist until it gets a proper private investigator’s license in Michigan.
The university said it took the action to safeguard student privacy. Other colleges, also invoking student privacy, have tried to resist subpoenas asking for student names. The subpoenas were generated by MediaSentry investigations. A judge has ruled against colleges using this tactic, as this week’s Chronicle article details. Perhaps Central Michigan thinks that moving against the investigators, rather than the products of their investigations, will be more effective. —Josh Fischman
Categories: Campus-Piracy
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