Piracy on the Internet is one of the most common crimes committed by young people. While on campus, one could easily be tempted to illegally download their favorite television show or the newest movie this summer.
Policies set up by University IT Services may make someone rethink whether they commit copyright infringement. These rules can become problematic and even harmful to a student’s career if caught multiple times.
“We have a legal obligation to follow through on a complaint that’s filed from companies contacting us,” said ITS communications and planning officer Sheri Thompson. “It’s not considered punishment, but more of an education opportunity.”
LSU is required to investigate complaints made about copyright infringement since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was signed into law in 1998. The DMCA was made to define the illegal downloading or sharing of copyrighted material.
When an LSU student downloads a file illegally on LSU’s Wi-Fi network, it is then up to the company the student stole from to report the action. This company can recognize the student is at LSU by tracking the IP address.
On the first offense, a student’s network access will be temporarily restricted for all of the owner’s devices. The student can get their access back by completing an illegal-file-sharing Moodle course and quiz and a DMCA incident report at the ITS Help Desk.
A student who gets caught again will receive a multitude of sanctions, including a $50 fine, the incident being noted on the student’s academic record and a referral to the Dean of Students’s office for violation of the LSU Code of Student Conduct.
Security and policy officer Craig Callender said they do not use a fine on the first offense because they want it to be seen as a learning experience, especially for new students.
“At the beginning of the semester, new students may be unaware [of the policies], and that’s why we don’t do the fee on your first offense,” Callender said. “We use a point of educating a student about the legal matters.”
ITS said it usually gets 15 to 20 complaints a month from companies, but it depends on when companies decide to crack down on people committing piracy. ITS does not report or discipline students if it is not reported by companies.
Callender said he has seen a shift in what type of companies are making reports. Music companies made most of the copyright complaints in the early 2000s, but with the addition of services like Spotify and Pandora, complaints made by television companies are more common.