COLLEGES CHALLENGE BILL REQUIRING PIRACY CRACKDOWN

College administrators say that MPAA-backed legislation tying federal financial-aid programs to a requirement that the schools institute anti-piracy programs could wind up increasing student tuition. Steve Worona, director of policy and networking for the nonprofit Educause, told the Los Angeles Times that the vast majority of piracy occurs off-campus and that the new mandate would be ineffective in reducing it. "More than 80 percent of students live off-campus and use commercial networks," he said. Educause Vice President Mark Luker added that the House-passed legislation was spurred by the MPAA's initial claims that 44 percent of the industry's losses due to piracy were caused by students using college networks. However, in late January the organization, citing "human error," acknowledged that the percentage was about 15 percent. However, the Times reported, some studies indicate that the actual percentage of students using peer-to-peer networks on campus is much lower still, around 3 percent.

17/03/2008