Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Education

Entertainment Industry Sways Higher Ed Act

July 30, 2008 02:07 PM ET | Alison Go | Permanent Link | Print

As the recording industry continues to take copious amounts of legal action against college students for illegal downloading, it has also notched a win in Congress, pushing through a provision in the Higher Education Act that holds colleges more responsible for stopping kids from swapping copyrighted works, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

One part of the bill—which Senate and House negotiators OK'd last night and will probably be approved by Congress by the end of the week—would force colleges to use "technology-based deterrents" to combat illegal sharing on peer-to-peer networks and also urges colleges to offer subscription-based music and video services.

Tags: colleges | Congress | RIAA | music

Tools: Share | | Comments (4) | Print

Reader Comments

No wonder Congress has a low approval rating

I don't know the "back story" here (since it's not provided above), but if Congress is putting burdens on colleges (many of them publicly subsidized) to benefit the Music Biz, somebody has their priorities more twisted than their shorts.

So who wanted this provision in the Congressional world of compromise? Democrats or Republicans?

So, why not?

Why should the colleges not be burdened? They certainly have the technology to help in deterring illegal downloads. Obviously Daniel has lost any income to music theft.

Why?

Why is the music business getting singled out? Let's go whole hog here. The colleges should also be responsible for stopping all crimes by students. Maybe we could outsource all that work to the Chinese government.

PS: Unless they are stealing the paper scores or the instruments, or at least the physical CD copies, there is no "theft" involved. It is copyright infringment, a very different offense.

PPS: The music business has still not proved that sharing of recorded music has resulted in loss of income. The decrease in unit sales corresponds the us boomers buying a CD copy of albums released on vinyl. Let them prove a loss based only on CD sales of material originally released on CD.

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

About The Paper Trail

Being a college graduate and all, writer Alison Go is uniquely qualified to sift through thousands of student newspaper headlines every day to bring you the latest, most important, or just plain weirdest news from campuses across the country. Heard bigger news or a crazier story? Send tips to papertrail@usnews.com.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

FROM THE EXPERTS

Education Tips

Why It's Stupid to Procrastinate

Professors' Guide: Putting it off until an all-nighter means you'll miss opportunities to boost your grade.

EDUCATION BLOGS

Paper Trail 90 x 60

Hazing Judgment Overturned

Campus News: Judge accepts fraternity's explanation for its failure to respond to original lawsuit.

On Education blog 90 x 60

Math Teachers Struggle

On Education: A study warns that many math teachers are only a chapter ahead of students.

Studio portrait of Robert Morse of USN&WR.

World's Best Colleges

Rankings News: Rankings of the best universities on the planet by region and field of study.

College Cash 101

Can I Still Get a Scholarship?

College Cash 101: Thanks to the sour economy, demand for grants is up and supply is down.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Make USNews.com your home page.