Lamar Smith Takes Money From RIAA, Makes Threats On Their Behalf
Today's despicable scum-of-the-earth hails from the state of Texas. Republican Representative Lamar Smith has been accepting money from the RIAA, the group that represents the music industry and has been filing blanket lawsuits against college students it claims have been illegally downloading music. That's understandable, as long as Mr. Smith does not let that money influence him. Of course, we are talking about Texas politics, so you know where this is going.
Lamar Smith recently sent out letters to 20 U.S. universities, threatening them to answer RIAA requests for student names and information or "Congress will be forced to act." It's clear that these letters were sent on behalf of Lamar Smith's friends at the RIAA. No decent politician would chide many of this countries fine universities in such a way.
These colleges are often just protecting the privacy of their students. The RIAA is not a legal authority. When they send out a subpoena to a college, requesting the name of a student using an IP address that they believe was file-sharing, the college SHOULD NOT supply that information. If they RIAA wants to force the issue, they should gather the appropriate evidence and get the proper authorities involved. To think that colleges should give out student information to a private organization is preposterous.
I wouldn't expect Lamar Smith to know how the law works - after all, he is just a legislator. Like just about any Texas politician, he only knows how to shovel money into his pockets and protect those supplying it.
The latest batch of RIAA settlement letters, which are really just empty threats of lawsuits, have been sent out to students at Duke, Brandeis, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Syracuse, Tufts, Georgia, Iowa, USC, South Florida, Tennessee, MIT, and several others. I urge all those students to contact their lawyers or someone at the EFF immediately. You SHOULD fight this. The RIAA earns revenue by sending out thousands of these threatening letters a year, hoping that hundreds of people will settle for thousands of dollars apiece. It's fake lawsuit spam. They get scared when people fight back, because they don't have the evidence to succeed in court. I think everyone who receives one of these settlement letters should hire a lawyer, fight the claim, and demand lawyer fees after you win. Taking away the RIAA's revenue source is the only way they'll ever learn. That, and not electing people like Lamar Smith who are in the RIAA's pocket.
Bullying: Congressmen Who Took Money From The RIAA Send Chiding Letters To Universities - Consumerist
Lamar Smith recently sent out letters to 20 U.S. universities, threatening them to answer RIAA requests for student names and information or "Congress will be forced to act." It's clear that these letters were sent on behalf of Lamar Smith's friends at the RIAA. No decent politician would chide many of this countries fine universities in such a way.
These colleges are often just protecting the privacy of their students. The RIAA is not a legal authority. When they send out a subpoena to a college, requesting the name of a student using an IP address that they believe was file-sharing, the college SHOULD NOT supply that information. If they RIAA wants to force the issue, they should gather the appropriate evidence and get the proper authorities involved. To think that colleges should give out student information to a private organization is preposterous.
I wouldn't expect Lamar Smith to know how the law works - after all, he is just a legislator. Like just about any Texas politician, he only knows how to shovel money into his pockets and protect those supplying it.
The latest batch of RIAA settlement letters, which are really just empty threats of lawsuits, have been sent out to students at Duke, Brandeis, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Syracuse, Tufts, Georgia, Iowa, USC, South Florida, Tennessee, MIT, and several others. I urge all those students to contact their lawyers or someone at the EFF immediately. You SHOULD fight this. The RIAA earns revenue by sending out thousands of these threatening letters a year, hoping that hundreds of people will settle for thousands of dollars apiece. It's fake lawsuit spam. They get scared when people fight back, because they don't have the evidence to succeed in court. I think everyone who receives one of these settlement letters should hire a lawyer, fight the claim, and demand lawyer fees after you win. Taking away the RIAA's revenue source is the only way they'll ever learn. That, and not electing people like Lamar Smith who are in the RIAA's pocket.
Bullying: Congressmen Who Took Money From The RIAA Send Chiding Letters To Universities - Consumerist