The RIAA, the recording industry's trade group, announced last week that it will offer a "clean slate" to anyone who stops sharing, deletes the ill-gotten files, and signs a sworn statement that includes an admission of guilt. And what, exactly, does the clean slate amount to? The RIAA promises not to sue you, and not to help anyone else do so.
Legal experts immediately recognized that individual artists, their managers, and a long list of other groups arguably harmed by file sharing can still sue anyone who signs up for the program, as Josh Brodie reported in these pages last Wednesday. Step one for anybody who decides to sue a repentant music sharer will be a court order forcing the RIAA to turn over that pesky affidavit. In other words, the amnesty offer is a bad deal, and students who take it are only setting themselves up for trouble.
The RIAA is trying to have it both ways. On the one hand, they hope, they'll get credit for extending an olive branch to consumers. On the other, they're laying the foundation for individual artists to do the dirty work of taking customers to court — and letting those artists absorb the attendant negative publicity. They're trying to pull a fast one, and it should serve as a warning against taking anything they say at face value. Daily Princetonian editorials are written by the Editorial & Opinion Editors, Managing Editors and Editor-In-Chief.
Read More
The CPUC must not gut its Judicial Committee
Bill HewittEnding the Judicial Committee’s jurisdiction over initial complaints would embolden abuses of power, allowing the administration to evade accountability for University rule violations without the pressure of student and faculty authority.
Ending the Judicial Committee’s jurisdiction over initial complaints would embolden abuses of power, allowing the administration to evade accountability for University rule violations without the pressure of student and faculty authority.
Princeton, let’s adopt a digital prox
Jorge ReyesTo prevent pointless replacement and lockout charges, maximize convenience, and create better access to meals and facilities, Princeton should follow the precedent set by some of its peers and adopt a digital prox system.
To prevent pointless replacement and lockout charges, maximize convenience, and create better access to meals and facilities, Princeton should follow the precedent set by some of its peers and adopt a digital prox system.
What is a Princeton degree really for?
Joel IbabaoSo what, in the end, is a Princeton degree really for? I take a more moderate view: Students should prioritize earning potential — unless they feel irresistibly called to something else.
So what, in the end, is a Princeton degree really for? I take a more moderate view: Students should prioritize earning potential — unless they feel irresistibly called to something else.