OIT Help Desk

Peer to Peer File sharing announcement

What is happening?
Effective September 19, 2011, the Office of Information Technology will implement technical controls to dissuade the use of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing programs on select network segments.

Who is impacted?
Users of peer-to-peer file sharing applications such as Limewire, Frostwire, Bittorent, and Gnutella. Use of applications such as these represents one of the most common forms of illegally obtaining copyrighted material. Peer to peer sharing occurs when you join a network of users (such as the Bittorent network) to share all or part of your data. Sharing data such as music and movies is illegal if both you and the person you are sharing material with do not hold copyright for that material.

Why is this change being made?
First of all, downloading and/or sharing of copyrighted material without proper ownership or usage rights is illegal. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed by Congress in 1998. The DMCA makes it illegal to copy or share copyrighted data, everything from music, movies, video and computer games, if you do not obtain permission from the copyright holder.

Secondly, entities such as the Recording Industry Associate of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) monitor traffic on the Internet to identify such activities. When one of these entities identifies a potential copyright infringement activity at Indiana State University (ISU), an order is issued to block the activity, and ISU must comply with that order. In these cases, the account of the individual who is downloading material is temporarily blocked, and the individual is notified to stop the activity. In the case of a second incident involving the same student, the Student Judicial Council is involved and action is taken by that group. In some cases, entities like the RIAA and MPAA have prosecuted offenders.

What should you do if you believe legitimate network traffic is being impacted by this change?
If you believe legitimate network functionality is impacted by these measures, please contact the OIT Help Desk at 812-237-2910 or it-help@indstate.edu. Please note when calling the Help Desk you will be asked to provide details related to the application you believe may have been impacted by this technical control.

How can I legally download content such as music and movies?
If you would like to legally download content from the Internet, visit this webpage for a list of links to different download services: http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent. While many will be fee based services, there will be some options for free downloads.