[Air-l] resisting subpeonas

[robert m. tynes]

via the New York Times:

COLLEGES RESIST RECORD INDUSTRY SUBPOENAS Boston College and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology said yesterday that they were barred
from immediately handing over the names of students to the recording
industry by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which requires
institutions to notify students before releasing any personal data. The
Recording Industry of America has filed almost 1,000 subpoenas in Federal
District Court in Washington, requesting information from educational
institutions and Internet service providers on users of KaZaa, the
file-sharing service. The group issued the requests as part of its effort
to crack down on those using the Internet to illegally distribute
copyrighted music. Both colleges said they were opposing the subpoenas on
procedural grounds, rather than contesting the association's right to the
information. "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 M.I.T. time to send any notice as the law
requires," said James D. Bruce, vice president for information systems at
M.I.T. As a result, the refusals could further delay  but are unlikely to
derail  the recording industry's efforts to unmask file swappers and
ultimately file suit against them.

(CNET News.com)