In the USA, colleges and Universities are under strict orders to control and prevent the illegal sharing of files within the school’s networks. This would be quite difficult for school and university administrators due to the mere fact that almost 80% of all students use external access points to the internet. The aim is to curb piracy in their classrooms and lecture halls where most students have iPod’s plugged in loaded with pirated music. The rule applies mostly to those educational facilities which receive financial aid from the Federal Government but is causing much dismay from school administrators who will have to implement it or face reduced or revocation of government assistance.
The MPAA and RIAA say that millions of dollars of lost revenue due to shared and used music and movies by students who are in university. Such acts are hard to police and can only be controlled if the access is done through the school’s network itself. Policing each and every digital player, laptop and media player would be next to impossible and can be called an invasion of privacy. This is also seen as a source of unnecessary costs which would be spent on control measures to check for such activities and site blocking systems that would allow proper management and detection of such illegal files. Administrators recommend authorized sites such as Ruckus which is strictly for college students and faculty and many other local sources for their needs.
Students are the highest users of pirated songs and movies they get off the internet and legislators are taking notice of such activities. The law is quite broad and still needs refining for it to become realistic and applicable to their intended targets.