July 25th, 2007
Never mind...just tell their students if they're naughty
As the Senate continued adding, revising, and removing amendments from the Higher Education Act on Wednesday, outcry from universities, lobbyists, and private citizens caused Harry Reid to withdraw his amendment on college file sharing. The original amendment, was sweeping, vague, and fairly clueless about it’s implications. While work on the Higher Ed bill will continue on Thursday, a much friendlier amendment relating to file sharing on campus is expected to make it’s way into the bill. According to Insidehighered.com,
The language in the new version of the Reid amendment would require colleges to (1) warn students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material can get them in legal trouble; (2) summarize the federal penalties for such activity; (3) describe the college’s policies governing illegal file sharing, including its disciplinary penalties; and (4) describe the steps the institution has taken to prevent and detect such activity on its campus network.
That’s a little better, eh?
Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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