U Wash Won't Cite Students on Swapping

Second school defies RIAA request to pass along warning letters
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 4, 2008 1:58 PM CST
U Wash Won't Cite Students on Swapping
(FILE PHOTO) New York University student Jennifer Huang downloads music from the Napster site March 6, 2001 in New York City.   (Getty Images)

The University of Washington has become the second Pacific Northwest school to refuse to pass along warning letters from the RIAA to students whose IP addresses were used for illegal downloading. The RIAA considers students liable for any swapping connected with their IP addresses, but the UW, along with the University of Oregon, argues that there's no way to know who was using a computer at a given time.

The RIAA sent 396 letters to administrators at 22 universities in December, offering offending students the option of settling with a "convenient" monthly payment plan or risking an expensive lawsuit. A UW spokesman said further investigation would be required to verify that those students were at fault before passing on the letters. (More music downloads stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X