momditty
September 26th, 2003, 05:36 PM
Posted Sep. 22, 2003
Teens chosen to share views with Congress
Two Hortonville students to speak at Wired summit By Linda Martinez Post-Crescent staff writer HORTONVILLE —
Erik Rusch and Brittney Lautenschlager understand the recording industry’s frustration over music file sharing.
The two Hortonville High School students feel the industry jumped the gun however, when it filed lawsuits this summer against people who probably did not know they broke copyright laws.
“They could have done a lot more things,” said Rusch, 17, of Greenville, suggesting that the industry educate consumers about copyright laws or make CDs inexpensive so consumers would be more likely to buy them than download freebies.
Lautenschlager, 18, of Hortonville, said the industry is being drastic. “Making people angry isn’t a good way to send your message.”
That is the message the pair plan to deliver to legislators and technology leaders on the floor of the U.S. Senate as part of a Wired Kids Summit Oct. 6-9 in Washington, D.C.
The summit is sponsored by WiredKids, part of an online safety, help and education organization called WiredSafety.
The group also sponsors Teenangels, an Internet safety organization that has a chapter in Hortonville.
Rusch and Lautenschlager were asked to speak after they wrote articles about file sharing and instant messaging, respectively, for a business and law class. The articles later were published online.
File sharing has become a hot topic recently in the wake of thousands of civil lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against major offenders who have been illegally distributing copyrighted music via the Internet. For their part, several Internet providers have been pulled into the process as they were subpoenaed to release the names of customers who are suspected of copyright infringement.
Parents and colleges, too, have been under the gun to take responsibility.
Rusch admits he used to download files off the Internet. “I used to feel that we could download and it was no big deal.”
However, after researching the pros and cons, he realized the recording industry was losing a lot of money.
“Now I feel a lot more that it is wrong,” he said. “I’d be really upset, too, if I made a product and all of a sudden there was a way to get it without having to go to the store.
“But they can’t shut file sharing.”
Lautenschlager agreed. “No one’s going to win fully in the situation,” she said, adding that the parties involved in the lawsuits “are going to have to come to some sort of agreement. (Music) can’t be stolen anymore.”
Valerie Schmitz, founder and adviser of the Teenangels Hortonville chapter, said she was proud of Rusch and Lautenschlager for their research. In addition to the panel on file sharing, four other Teenangels from Hortonville will speak on Internet safety during the summit.
“I’m very proud of them,” Schmitz said.
“If more teens shared their thoughts with legislators they wouldn’t be an ignored part of the population.”
Linda Martinez can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 558, or by e-mail at [email protected]
Teens chosen to share views with Congress
Two Hortonville students to speak at Wired summit By Linda Martinez Post-Crescent staff writer HORTONVILLE —
Erik Rusch and Brittney Lautenschlager understand the recording industry’s frustration over music file sharing.
The two Hortonville High School students feel the industry jumped the gun however, when it filed lawsuits this summer against people who probably did not know they broke copyright laws.
“They could have done a lot more things,” said Rusch, 17, of Greenville, suggesting that the industry educate consumers about copyright laws or make CDs inexpensive so consumers would be more likely to buy them than download freebies.
Lautenschlager, 18, of Hortonville, said the industry is being drastic. “Making people angry isn’t a good way to send your message.”
That is the message the pair plan to deliver to legislators and technology leaders on the floor of the U.S. Senate as part of a Wired Kids Summit Oct. 6-9 in Washington, D.C.
The summit is sponsored by WiredKids, part of an online safety, help and education organization called WiredSafety.
The group also sponsors Teenangels, an Internet safety organization that has a chapter in Hortonville.
Rusch and Lautenschlager were asked to speak after they wrote articles about file sharing and instant messaging, respectively, for a business and law class. The articles later were published online.
File sharing has become a hot topic recently in the wake of thousands of civil lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against major offenders who have been illegally distributing copyrighted music via the Internet. For their part, several Internet providers have been pulled into the process as they were subpoenaed to release the names of customers who are suspected of copyright infringement.
Parents and colleges, too, have been under the gun to take responsibility.
Rusch admits he used to download files off the Internet. “I used to feel that we could download and it was no big deal.”
However, after researching the pros and cons, he realized the recording industry was losing a lot of money.
“Now I feel a lot more that it is wrong,” he said. “I’d be really upset, too, if I made a product and all of a sudden there was a way to get it without having to go to the store.
“But they can’t shut file sharing.”
Lautenschlager agreed. “No one’s going to win fully in the situation,” she said, adding that the parties involved in the lawsuits “are going to have to come to some sort of agreement. (Music) can’t be stolen anymore.”
Valerie Schmitz, founder and adviser of the Teenangels Hortonville chapter, said she was proud of Rusch and Lautenschlager for their research. In addition to the panel on file sharing, four other Teenangels from Hortonville will speak on Internet safety during the summit.
“I’m very proud of them,” Schmitz said.
“If more teens shared their thoughts with legislators they wouldn’t be an ignored part of the population.”
Linda Martinez can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 558, or by e-mail at [email protected]