Louisiana State University has chosen its own way to tackle online piracy. At the bottom end, the infringers will experience a temporary disconnection from the web, while repeat offenders will get fines and even worse ¬– potentially career-damaging notes on their education records, for example.



Today any Internet provider has to be aware of the Internet piracy problem. Internet service providers, whether that is a regular ISP, web host, or just the operator of a free open Wi-Fi network in a coffee shop, should know how users’ actions can affect them – especially this is true for the US universities. 4 years ago, the United States put in place a new requirement for educational institutions to curtail unauthorized file-sharing on their networks. If the universities fail to do so, they can lose federal funding. This is why campuses view the issue seriously.

Louisiana State University has recently revealed that its IT Services receive between 15 and 20 complaints per month from copyright owners – this is an excellent result for almost 30,000 students. Previously, almost all complaints originated from the music companies, but with the advent of services like Spotify, reports from TV companies are more common.

The university acts on these allegations of infringement, no matter where they originate. After a first complaint, a student is restricted access to the Internet and only has it restored after the completion of an educational course covering online piracy. After the second complaint students have worse to look forward to, starting with a fine.

The $50 fine allows to recover costs incurred in reviewing and processing DMCA complaints and fund programs for awareness, including the promotion of legal services. However, even though the $50 fine can be harsh enough for a student on a limited budget, the university also warns of even tougher sanctions. Accusations of unauthorized file-sharing can be noted on the student’s academic record and therefore have implications for their career prospects. Finally, the DMCA complaints can result in a referral to the Dean of Students’ office for violation of the University Code of Student Conduct.

Louisiana State University also admits that it employs filtering technology to eliminate most peer-to-peer traffic in the network, but some users manage to get through anyway.