In its latest strategy for dealing with illegal file sharing on college campuses, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is asking for help from college administrators to deal with the growing trend of students sharing copyrighted files on local area networks (LANs).
LAN file sharing allows students to download large amounts of copyrighted music and movies at high speeds directly from other students at their college or university onto their computers, using programs like Direct Connect, myTunes and ourTunes.
In April the RIAA sent a letter to 40 universities, but not to Ithaca College, identifying LAN piracy as an “increasing” problem and asking administrators for help in stopping students from downloading copyrighted files over college networks.
The letter advised colleges and universities to conduct investigations of their networks and shut down any illegal file sharing they found. The RIAA said stopping piracy on LANs is a priority because of the “growing share of the college piracy problem attributable to [LANs].”
