Staff Report
The Recording Industry Association of America's vigilance in policing the nation's illegal downloading of music online has apparently persuaded many people to stop the behavior.
According to the American Life Project, a national organization studying the impact of the Internet on society, concluded in a study released last week that the number of people downloading online music has decreased more than 50 percent since the RIAA began unleashing barrages of lawsuits against music downloaders in July 2003.
The RIAA has filed nearly 1,000 copyright infringement lawsuits against people as young as 12 years old in the months since. In its most recent move to rid the music industry of illegal music pirates, the association has begun filing "John Doe" lawsuits this month, forcing Internet service providers to cough up the identities of the often elusive downloaders.
"It's important for people to know that this activity is illegal and that their actions have consequences," said Amanda Collins, an RIAA spokeswoman. "There are no excuses to steal (the music). There are legal ways of doing it."
Collins said the RIAA is blaming a significant increase in music downloading in the past three years for a serious decline in music sales, and that is the reason it began pursuing the lawsuits.
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The penalties incurred by the lawsuits range from $750 to $1,500 for every illegal song in a person's possession.
According to the study's results, before the RIAA began issuing lawsuits, 56 percent of college students nationwide admitted to downloading music on readily available Internet programs like Kazaa and Napster.
By March 1, that number dwindled to 19 percent.
Although Collins said the bulk of the lawsuits were aimed at college students, the UNM community remains under the RIAA's radar.
Jeff Gassaway, security administrator at UNM's Computer Information Resources and Technology Department, said there have been no lawsuits filed against University community members by the RIAA.
He said CIRT is able to monitor individual computer usage on campus and can identify the use of music downloading programs. He said when this happens, CIRT restricts the users Internet availability.
Gassaway said CIRT has also implemented programs to educate UNM students about the possibility of being sued for participating in the illegal activity.
Many UNM students say they have felt the sting of fear from the rash of lawsuits by the RIAA and consider it before downloading music online.
"Who doesn't love free music?" said Andrew Johnson, a UNM sophomore. "But the costs are just getting too high. I might have to even buy a CD soon."
Online companies are getting caught in the fray as well. Comcast, one of Albuquerque's biggest Internet providers, has stated on its Web site it will break rank and notify its customers if they are being looked at for an RIAA lawsuit. The company also said it will only hand over customers' information if a court assembles ample evidence to point to them.
Still, Internet users like Johnson say they no longer attempt illegal activity online because of the lawsuits.
"It's just too risky anymore," he said.
