No More MP3s At Work
from the crack-down dept
It seems that the highly publicized RIAA “fine” for a company caught having a MP3 music server at work for employees is having the desired effect. Many companies are banning file sharing at work. Of course, I still think the original fine was something of a sham for the sake of publicity. I can’t see why a company would ever agree to pay $1 million for doing something that isn’t even clearly illegal. Many companies are banning files sharing at work because it’s taking up bandwidth – which makes sense. However, some are saying they’re doing it to stop illegal downloads. Either way, it appears that the bans put in place by companies aren’t working. No matter what they do, employees are still finding ways to get music. Interestingly, they mention someone who was fired just for having MP3s on her computer. What if she had ripped all those songs from CDs she personally owned (so she didn’t have to bring CDs to work every day)?
Comments on “No More MP3s At Work”
workplace is not a playground
I am of the opinion that the office is a place of work; it’s not a playground, and employees’ entertainment — particularly when it gets in to the legal gray area of potentially illegal MP3s — should not be a consideration for managers. So when people bitch and moan about not being able to listen to music at work anymore, I have this to say: Shut up, or you’re fired.
Simple as that.
Re: Physician, heal thyself
So I guess you are going to fire yourself for reading TechDirt at work?
Re: workplace is not a playground
I’m glad I don’t work for you, then. 🙂
I’m actually of the belief that people work better when they’re happier (though, there are mixed results on studies to that effect…). I also believe that employees who are forced to do nothing but work all day are actually less productive than employees who are occasionally allowed to do other stuff. If you’re only working, you’re going to burn out. But, people who can take small breaks to recharge often get better results.
Obviously, if someone is totally slacking off, then they deserve to lose their job. But, as long as people can get their work done, I’m not concerned about if they do some personal stuff at work.
Re: workplace is not a playground
Troll.
Re: workplace is not a playground
so, i suppouse you are a employer and not an employee.. it?s sad that you said that..
RIAA
How about a little paranoid fantasy? Since the “fine” was a settlement of a lawsuit reported only in an RIAA press release, it would have been trivial for the RIAA to cut a deal — let us issue the press release, send us $1M, and we will “invest” $1M (maybe more to cover your legal fees to date) with your company to further “education” and “technological solutions” to the file sharing problem. Oh, and that “investment” is yours to spend as you see fit. Net cost to the company — zero. Treat the “fine” as a business expense, reducing net income and thus taxes, while booking the returned “investment” as capital. Hmmm. Maybe the guy at Worldcom was just not creative enough!