[chord] [Fwd: [Nuzeds] RIAA subpoena (fwd)]

[Frank Dabek]

Maybe we should start thinking about anonymity....

--Frank


Subject: RIAA subpoena

MIT News Office
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 11-400
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139-4307
Phone: 617-253-2700
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www

======================================
MIT responds to RIAA subpoena
======================================

For Immediate Release
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2003
Contact: Robert J. Sales, MIT News Office
Phone: 617-253-1682
Email: rjsales at .mit.edu

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Professor James Bruce, Vice President for
Information Systems at MIT, issued the following statement:

"MIT recently received a subpoena from the Recording Industry
Association of America that was issued under the terms of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.  The subpoena requests the name and address
of the individual whose computer was, according to the RIAA, sending
out copyrighted songs on the Internet.

"A different federal law, the Family Education Rights and Privacy
Act, prohibits colleges and universities from disclosing information
about students except in certain situations.  One of the situations
is when an educational institution is served with valid subpoenas.
However, even when valid subpoenas are served, the law requires the
educational institution to give students advance notice of the
existence of the subpoenas, so that they can take whatever action
they may choose to try to protect their information from disclosure.

"MIT of course has a policy of complying with lawfully issued
subpoenas.  But in this case we have been advised by counsel that the
subpoena was not in compliance with the court rules that apply to
these subpoenas, and did not allow MIT time to send any
notice as the law requires.

We understand that there is an active national debate about the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the subpoenas that the RIAA is
issuing under it.  By objecting to this particular subpoena,

"MIT is not taking any sides in that debate.  But we are required by
federal law to disclose student information only if we have a valid
subpoena and have given the necessary advance notice.

MIT filed a motion in the United States District Court for the
District of Massachusetts today on that point only, and has asked the
Court to advise MIT how to proceed."

			END
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