Representative Ric Keller feels that colleges in America are places where students learn to steal "billions of dollars in intellectual property from hardworking people whose jobs hang in the balance" and his new bill (HR 1689) could give schools more money to combat P2P. The bill, called the "Curb Illegal Downloading on College Campuses Act of 2007," amends the Higher Education Act, a bill that supplies federal money to universities for bandwidth costs and to keep networks more secure, allowing that money (note: not any additional funding is being requested) to be used to combat illegal downloading of copyrighted content. The bill notes that "computer systems at colleges and universities are intended primarily to aid in educating and increase research capability among students and faculty."
There's no guarantee that the bill will make it to a vote, but even if it makes it through all the political obstacles, it isn’t clear if schools would be interested in using a limited pool of federal money to police student file-swapping. It has already been shunted to the House Committee on Education and Labor, and might languish there until the end of this Congressional term except for the fact that the HEA, which expires this summer, needs to be reauthorized.
News source: Ars Technica
There's no guarantee that the bill will make it to a vote, but even if it makes it through all the political obstacles, it isn’t clear if schools would be interested in using a limited pool of federal money to police student file-swapping. It has already been shunted to the House Committee on Education and Labor, and might languish there until the end of this Congressional term except for the fact that the HEA, which expires this summer, needs to be reauthorized.
News source: Ars Technica
anyway this seems cool it means the government are fighting record industry
"Jobs are in the balance" ummm I don't see to many artists that have gone back to school to get a real job because p2p has decreased their income substantially. I would like to see many artists out of the business though. The people who are in the balance are the CEOs of the record labels who promote crappy music and expect the consumer to swallow it and abide by its DRM restrictions.
Chris | NTN
<link snipped> - Please don't use news comments to promote your own site
Last edited by DaveLegg on 02 Apr 2007 - 19:05
Last edited by MR_Candyman on 02 Apr 2007 - 18:17
thought it was going to say
"New bills lets colleges use federal funds to fight RIAA"
P2P has LEGAL uses, example: downloading huge linux torrents.
it SHOULD say "New bill lets colleges use federal funds to fight Copyright Infringement"
...there is a difference.
Well... don't you think federal funds can be put to better use? Is stopping kids downloading music and video really more important/critical than say, the social security problem? I don't want my tax money to go towards such frivolous and totally unnecessary expenditures, and I am sure you will get the same answer from most of the people you ask.
Ahhell is totally correct, it is disheartening to feel that the lawmakers of our country and ??AA seem to be bedfellows. I hope this bill never passes.
Ahhell is totally correct, it is disheartening to feel that the lawmakers of our country and ??AA seem to be bedfellows. I hope this bill never passes.
YEAH!!!!!
Well... don't you think federal funds can be put to better use? Is stopping kids downloading music and video really more important/critical than say, the social security problem? I don't want my tax money to go towards such frivolous and totally unnecessary expenditures, and I am sure you will get the same answer from most of the people you ask.
Ahhell is totally correct, it is disheartening to feel that the lawmakers of our country and ??AA seem to be bedfellows. I hope this bill never passes.
to better use? this is just money the university was going to get to start with! all they are doing is saying you can use it for this also if you want, previously you couldnt... so dont give me the funds for better use story.. the university would of goten the money either way just would of had different restrictions on it.. btw this isnt the most "frivilous" expense your tax money goes to, just look stuff up, they built highways to no where, billion dollar airports that where never used! in the middle of no where!... this is nothing! heck its not even that much money when you look at it.. heck the bill that was just put forth from the Democrats to start the Iraq pullout was FULL of these projects! and we are talking BILLIONS of dollars for meaningless projects... you should be more concerned about that, but why is it going to pass? because they attached it to something the majority of the american public supports, the troop withdrawl..
Well the university can put it to 'better use' than serving the interests of ??AA and the like.
About the frivolous expenditure thing, well, you may be right (I haven't done any research on this and it does sound like what any gubmint would do, Republican or Democrat), but it is wrong, isn't it? Doing 100 wrongs does not give them the right to do the 101st wrong, because they have precedent. :/
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