The University of Michigan Wants You To "Be Aware You're Uploading"
by: Kurt Hunt, Blog Editor, MTTLR
1 U-M BAYU: Be Aware You’re Uploading, http://bayu.umich.edu/basics.php.
2 Id.
3 Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml.
4 U-M BAYU: Be Aware You’re Uploading, http://bayu.umich.edu/basics.php.
5 Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml.
6 See, e.g., Press Release, Recording Industry Association of America, Pre-Lawsuit Letters Sent in New Wave Targeting Music Theft on 19 Campuses (Oct. 18, 2007), http://www.riaa.org/newsitem.php?news_year_filter=&resultpage=&id=E549F223-3648-E92C-0CA2-7BFAFC2DB352 (RIAA sent 20 “pre-litigation settlement letters” to University of Michigan students in October, 2007); Press Release, Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA Pre-Lawsuit Letters Go to 22 Campuses in New Wave of Deterrence Program (April 11, 2007), http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?news_year_filter=&resultpage=4&id=7408966D-245D-A17D-4869-C0DB1E7ADA97 (RIAA sent 23 “pre-litigation settlement letters” to University of Michigan students in April, 2007).
7 See, e.g., Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml; Letter from Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan, to students of the University of Michigan (March 8, 2007), available at http://michiganfreeculture.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/riaa11.jpg?w=310&h=257.
8 Jack M. Germain, Big Pirate on Campus, E-Commerce Times, June 5, 2007, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/57678.html (citing a study by marketing firm NPD).
9 American Council on Education, Paying for College, http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CIP/PayingforCollege/College_Prices.htm (“about 25 percent of undergraduates live on campus”).
In October of 2007, the University of Michigan announced a new “Be Aware You’re Uploading” (BAYU) program “to notify users of University networks that they might be uploading” to peer-to-peer networks.1 The service, which will automatically e-mail students in residence halls when the University network detects P2P uploading, was said to serve three goals: (1) “to help users avoid unwittingly uploading,” (2) to help users upload lawfully, and (3) to help students “be mindful of the risks” of using P2P.2
Although University of Michigan assistant general counsel Jack Bernard reaffirmed that the school’s “goal is to educate our students so they can understand their choices, risks, and responsibilities,”3 it’s worth taking a closer look at the likely (and plausible) results of BAYU to determine if “education” is indeed the goal being served.
BAYU’s first two stated goals—to help users avoid unwittingly uploading, and to help users who wish to upload do so lawfully4—seem sufficiently focused on the well-being of the students to fit within the University’s description of the service’s ultimate purpose. The third, however, is more questionable.
The stated goal of helping students “be mindful of the risks” of using P2P technology is described by Mr. Bernard as simply educating students.5 While the educational result is undeniable, I would argue that affirmatively sending an e-mail to students warning them to "be mindful of the risks" of the P2P suggests that education is not the primary goal of the system. Deterrence is.
BAYU seems designed to intimidate. It puts students on notice that there is no anonymity in the residence halls, that their activities are noticed, and that their activities can be traced to them personally. It is far more personal and invasive than is necessary for mere "education."
This may seem like a quibbling difference in the framing of the goal, but its implications for BAYU should not be ignored. If BAYU is primarily serving educational goals, that implies that the University of Michigan is indifferent--or at least is not motivated by its opposition--to uploading of unauthorized content to P2P systems.
The fact is, however, that the University is not indifferent. Unauthorized file sharing from residence halls causes administrative hassles, potential legal liability, and political pressure from the RIAA and related groups.6 The University, through Mr. Bernard as well as mass e-mails to students, has repeatedly stressed that it "does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing" (hardly a surprise).7 Both for policy reasons and practical reasons, the University has every possible motivation to reduce unauthorized filesharing from its residence network. At the same time, it recognizes that publicizing BAYU as a "deterrent" to unauthorized file sharing would likely stir dissent within the student community. Hence: "education."
This shift from education to deterrence has important implications for the program’s success. First, it makes success hinge on a reduction of unauthorized file sharing—increased student knowledge of the risk is insufficient. Second, if BAYU proves successful in this respect, the obvious benefits to the University might inspire other schools to adopt similar methods of deterrence (with some perhaps not being wrapped in such rosy clothing).
What then?
If BAYU proves to be successful at deterring unauthorized filesharing and is imitated at many major universities, as it likely would be, the P2P market might see a dramatic reduction in the number of unauthorized uploaders. Studies have confirmed what common-sense tells us: college students make up a disproportionately high percentage of the unauthorized P2P market.8 Even accounting for the fact that not all college students connect to the internet via a University network,9 that could be a substantial number of potential uploaders that would be actively deterred. In other words, the spread of BAYU could help bring content owners one step closer to the goal of containing unauthorized file sharing.
Whether it's proper for universities to take this action is a broad question of policy that I don't pretend to address here. It's enough for now to point out that BAYU may not be as snuggly as the University portrays it, and that its success may have a wide effect on the future development of the P2P market.
Although University of Michigan assistant general counsel Jack Bernard reaffirmed that the school’s “goal is to educate our students so they can understand their choices, risks, and responsibilities,”3 it’s worth taking a closer look at the likely (and plausible) results of BAYU to determine if “education” is indeed the goal being served.
BAYU’s first two stated goals—to help users avoid unwittingly uploading, and to help users who wish to upload do so lawfully4—seem sufficiently focused on the well-being of the students to fit within the University’s description of the service’s ultimate purpose. The third, however, is more questionable.
The stated goal of helping students “be mindful of the risks” of using P2P technology is described by Mr. Bernard as simply educating students.5 While the educational result is undeniable, I would argue that affirmatively sending an e-mail to students warning them to "be mindful of the risks" of the P2P suggests that education is not the primary goal of the system. Deterrence is.
BAYU seems designed to intimidate. It puts students on notice that there is no anonymity in the residence halls, that their activities are noticed, and that their activities can be traced to them personally. It is far more personal and invasive than is necessary for mere "education."
This may seem like a quibbling difference in the framing of the goal, but its implications for BAYU should not be ignored. If BAYU is primarily serving educational goals, that implies that the University of Michigan is indifferent--or at least is not motivated by its opposition--to uploading of unauthorized content to P2P systems.
The fact is, however, that the University is not indifferent. Unauthorized file sharing from residence halls causes administrative hassles, potential legal liability, and political pressure from the RIAA and related groups.6 The University, through Mr. Bernard as well as mass e-mails to students, has repeatedly stressed that it "does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing" (hardly a surprise).7 Both for policy reasons and practical reasons, the University has every possible motivation to reduce unauthorized filesharing from its residence network. At the same time, it recognizes that publicizing BAYU as a "deterrent" to unauthorized file sharing would likely stir dissent within the student community. Hence: "education."
This shift from education to deterrence has important implications for the program’s success. First, it makes success hinge on a reduction of unauthorized file sharing—increased student knowledge of the risk is insufficient. Second, if BAYU proves successful in this respect, the obvious benefits to the University might inspire other schools to adopt similar methods of deterrence (with some perhaps not being wrapped in such rosy clothing).
What then?
If BAYU proves to be successful at deterring unauthorized filesharing and is imitated at many major universities, as it likely would be, the P2P market might see a dramatic reduction in the number of unauthorized uploaders. Studies have confirmed what common-sense tells us: college students make up a disproportionately high percentage of the unauthorized P2P market.8 Even accounting for the fact that not all college students connect to the internet via a University network,9 that could be a substantial number of potential uploaders that would be actively deterred. In other words, the spread of BAYU could help bring content owners one step closer to the goal of containing unauthorized file sharing.
Whether it's proper for universities to take this action is a broad question of policy that I don't pretend to address here. It's enough for now to point out that BAYU may not be as snuggly as the University portrays it, and that its success may have a wide effect on the future development of the P2P market.
1 U-M BAYU: Be Aware You’re Uploading, http://bayu.umich.edu/basics.php.
2 Id.
3 Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml.
4 U-M BAYU: Be Aware You’re Uploading, http://bayu.umich.edu/basics.php.
5 Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml.
6 See, e.g., Press Release, Recording Industry Association of America, Pre-Lawsuit Letters Sent in New Wave Targeting Music Theft on 19 Campuses (Oct. 18, 2007), http://www.riaa.org/newsitem.php?news_year_filter=&resultpage=&id=E549F223-3648-E92C-0CA2-7BFAFC2DB352 (RIAA sent 20 “pre-litigation settlement letters” to University of Michigan students in October, 2007); Press Release, Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA Pre-Lawsuit Letters Go to 22 Campuses in New Wave of Deterrence Program (April 11, 2007), http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?news_year_filter=&resultpage=4&id=7408966D-245D-A17D-4869-C0DB1E7ADA97 (RIAA sent 23 “pre-litigation settlement letters” to University of Michigan students in April, 2007).
7 See, e.g., Jack Bernard, ’U’ Puts Students First, The Michigan Daily, Oct. 31, 2007, available at http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/10/31/Viewpoints/u.Puts.Students.First-3067804.shtml; Letter from Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan, to students of the University of Michigan (March 8, 2007), available at http://michiganfreeculture.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/riaa11.jpg?w=310&h=257.
8 Jack M. Germain, Big Pirate on Campus, E-Commerce Times, June 5, 2007, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/57678.html (citing a study by marketing firm NPD).
9 American Council on Education, Paying for College, http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CIP/PayingforCollege/College_Prices.htm (“about 25 percent of undergraduates live on campus”).
posted by MTTLR Blog Editor at
11:00 PM
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