11/13/2007
The MPAA and the RIAA get what they pay for
Corporate schmuckery looms quite large in one of the Democrat's latest congressional initiatives: institutions of higher learning must pay the RIAA/MPAA blanket fees, or Democratic lawmakers will take away all federal funding from students; including those who don't own computers.
From CNET News.com:
New federal legislation says universities must agree to provide not just deterrents but also "alternatives" to peer-to-peer piracy, such as paying monthly subscription fees to the music industry for their students, on penalty of losing all financial aid for their students.
[...]
According to the bill, if universities did not agree to test "technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity," all of their students--even ones who don't own a computer--would lose federal financial aid.
The prospect of losing a combined total of nearly $100 billion a year in federal financial aid, coupled with the possibility of overzealous copyright-bots limiting the sharing of legitimate content, has alarmed university officials.
Thanks to Shawn for the tip.
The United $tate$: The Be$t Government Money Can Buy