OK, hands up, who at work has MP3's....
Stash those headphones and trash that file-swapping software: Companies are cracking down on employees who use streaming media and swap MP3s at work.
Companies increasingly are blocking access to Internet music and video at firewalls and are issuing sweeping initiatives that ban workplace media usage. The trend is a result of two developments: media usage hogging enormous amounts of corporate bandwidth and threats of legal liability from the RIAA as the entertainment industry aggressively pursues copyright scofflaws.
In the past few months, one major corporation (Integrated Information Systems [ISS]) agreed to settle a case brought by the RIAA for $1 million, because it found that the Arizona company allegedly let employees trade MP3 files over an internal network. Oops....
Typically, the RIAA receives tips about alleged illegal file swapping through its anonymous tip line. It then threatens legal action and asks companies to stop. So far, the tactics may be working.
News source: CNet News
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