May 20, 2008
Entertainment Industry Urges Texas to Adopt Law to Curb Student File Sharing
Barry Robinson, senior counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America, urged a panel of the Texas House of Representatives last week to endorse legislation that would require colleges to monitor their networks for illegal trading of music and video files and to buy software to curtail the problem.
He cited a law in Tennessee on the issue and a bill pending in the Illinois House of Representatives as legislative models for Texas, according to Brian E. Roberts, vice president for information technology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Mr. Robinson’s remarks to the House Committee on Business and Industry were part of a hearing Thursday on online piracy.
Mr. Roberts also spoke at the hearing. He told lawmakers that he supported programs to educate children on the responsible use of computers and digital material, but that efforts to force the University of Texas and other colleges to monitor their networks and buy software were counterproductive. He said many students at the Austin campus would simply move off campus where they could swap music files without university officials even knowing about. At least students on campus are limited in how much bandwidth they can consume, said Mr. Roberts.
He said lawmakers appeared undecided on whether to sponsor the type of legislation advocated by the recording-industry group. The committee is expected to issue a report on the issue this summer, he added.
College technology officials across the country are on alert about the entertainment industry’s recent strategy to push for state laws to curb illegal file-sharing on college campuses. —Andrea L. Foster
Posted on Tuesday May 20, 2008 | Permalink |Commenting is closed for this article.
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