RIAA Tells Universities To Shut Up And Hand Over Names

Miscellaneous

from the you-will-respect-Hollywood's-authoriTY dept

Following the news that MIT, Boston College and a few other universities were refusing to give up their student’s private info requested in the now infamous file sharing subpoenas, the RIAA has done what they always do: sent their lawyers crying to a judge. They’ve asked a judge to order the universities to violate the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and just give up the names. The universities have made it clear that they have no problem revealing this info, as long as it is done in a procedurally correct way that gives the students a reasonable amount of time to respond. The RIAA couldn’t care less about due process, though, and wants to be able to sue as fast as possible. Update: The judge has sided with MIT and Boston College. The court ruled that, as MIT and BC stated, the RIAA had filed the subpoenas via the wrong court, and they were being sent to schools outside the court’s jurisdiction. Thus, MIT and Boston College don’t need to respond to those subpoenas. What the article doesn’t say was how this relates to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which both universities were also saying conflicted with the subpoenas. As it stands now, the RIAA will simply refile the subpoenas in the local court, instead of the Washington DC court.