For Higher Ed Act Reauthorization,

An Amendment Making Colleges Responsible for File Sharing

Angela Januzzi

July 23, 2007

While the Higher Education Act undergoes reauthorization, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has proposed an additional amendment to the legislation. For years Congress has expressed concern about colleges’ responsible in restraining their students’ illegal file-sharing on school computer networks—now Sen. Reid is acting on that concern, much to the worry higher education institutions.

Reid’s amendment to the legislation would require schools to:

• Report annually to the U.S. Education Department on their implemented policies concerning illegal downloading.
• Assess their downloading policies to be sure that they are efficient.
• “Provide evidence” to the Education Department that schools have “developed a plan for implementing a technology-based deterrent to prevent the illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property.”

Mark Luker, vice president of Educause, claimed to speak on behalf of colleges and universities this past week, saying legislation aimed at changing “technology based” systems would demand that colleges software or hardware that may only work theoretically. There is also question whether or not the proposed technology would also result in blocking file-sharing that is not illegal, but instead does would bolster research and teaching methods. Luker and others also argue that there were never hearings held on the proposal. Conversely, the entertainment industry is lobbying in favor of Reid’s proposal.

Source: Jaschik, Scott. 'Showdown Over File Sharing." www.insidehighered.com. Published: Juy 23, 2007.