AfterDawn: News

Stanford will charge reconnection fee for P2P users

Sanford University has responded to being fingered by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as one of the worst 25 schools for piracy by enforcing reconnection fees for students caught up in DMCA complaints. To cover the costs involved with keeping up with the number of file sharing complaints received, Stanford will disconnect students who receive DMCA complaints or pre-litigation letters and charge a fee to be reconnected.

Stanford claims that the money spent on copyright enforcement related activities is "an irresponsible waste of Stanford's resources." Upon the first complaint against a student, the Information Security Office (ISO) will forward a copy to the student and request that infringing material be removed. If the student does not respond or remove the material within 48 hours, he/she will be disconnected from the school network and charged a $100 reconnection fee.



Any further offense will lead to an immediate disconnection from the network. For a student caught twice, a $500 reconnection fee will be charged. Upon the third instance, a student will have to indemnify the university against any further copyright violations and pay a $1,000 fee for a new account on the school network to regain access and will be referred to Judicial Affairs for disciplinary action.

While the action by the record industry on students has helped it to gain significant media attention and get the subject raised in congress, more and more students are staying one step ahead by going down the "darknet" route to avoid being caught.

Source:
Ars Technica

Written by: James Delahunty @ 17 May 2007 8:58

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• 7 comments

• venomX05

  You know...and I hate to say this, but I am SO glad that I don't go to a university. I can't believe they are doing that.
  
  Man, hope someday this nonsense will pass.
  
  BTW, those fees are ridiculous!

  17.5.2007 09:26 #1

• windsong

  There is an old saying about Stanford that probably applies to other Ivy League schools as well. "If you're smart enough to get in, you should be smart enough to stay out".
  
  Small, private colleges are personally more satisfying (and affordable) than the mega-elitist, corporate-friendly institutions.

  17.5.2007 10:55 #2

• AlmostOz

  you get kicked out of uni for plaigerising academic work (ie copy and pasting work from someone else into your assignment)
  
  "Stanford claims that the money spent on copyright enforcement related activities is "an irresponsible waste of Stanford's resources." Upon the first complaint against a student, the Information Security Office (ISO) will forward a copy to the student and request that infringing material be removed. If the student does not respond or remove the material within 48 hours, he/she will be disconnected from the school network and charged a $100 reconnection fee. "
  
  
  so whats the difference when you copy a song? you should get kicked out too.

  17.5.2007 14:56 #3

• borhan9

  Quote:Any further offense will lead to an immediate disconnection from the network. For a student caught twice, a $500 reconnection fee will be charged. Upon the third instance, a student will have to indemnify the university against any further copyright violations and pay a $1,000 fee for a new account on the school network to regain access and will be referred to Judicial Affairs for disciplinary action.I understand all this but its just fining the student whatever happen to 3 strikes and you get expaled. I guess thats why uni's are money making institutions now not only educational.

  17.5.2007 20:25 #4

• Unfocused

  So, the school is profiting at the expense of the students performing illegal activities?

  19.5.2007 18:25 #5

• Steve83

  Presumed guilty, AND fined before any investigation - interesting policy for a school with a prominent law program.

  19.5.2007 21:08 #6

• chaos_zzz

  ppl over there may have the money to buy music and vids and probabyl go the movies all the time so what's the problem again? i i had the money i wuldn't use p2p and about the fees they have to high right that's the point of being punished i f you park wrong and you get a 2$ ticket everybody would park whereer they want

  30.9.2007 16:19 #7