The Recording Industry Association of America has decided to stop suing groups of students for file sharing.
Most college students' gut reaction to that news goes something like this: Woohoo!
There's no doubt that fewer broke college kids getting sued is definitely for the best.
The lawsuits have been a well-known consequence of illegal file sharing for years, though, and they have served as at least a minimal deterrent to those who might be prone to partake of some of that "free" music.
The RIAA has now switched to using the far less effective deterrent of "takedown" notices sent to universities, which can then punish students as they see fit.
So now that the lawsuit deterrent has been removed, students have even less of a reason not to illegally download, right?
Wrong.
The key word is still illegal.
While people still seem to have their moral compasses in line when it comes to most copyright protection and theft issues, many have slipped off the path when it comes to file sharing.
This likely has a lot to do with the files' format. It's a lot easier to steal an electronic file than a CD you have to slip into your hoodie pocket while the clerk watches from the register.
People who download illegally also aren't depriving people of the thing they are stealing, and they generally aren't profiting from it. They're just using it for their own enjoyment.
But the fact of the matter is people who illegally download are depriving their victims of something: the potential profit their music could have earned.
College students share files illegally more than most groups, which is why the RIAA went after them in the first place.
Ball State University recognized this and brought the completely legal sharing service Ruckus to campus a couple years ago for students to use, but that too soon went wrong.
Ruckus lets people download music for free, but that music cannot be ripped to other devices like a burned CD or an MP3 player.
Crafty students found ways around that, though, and ended up using a legal program for an illegal purpose.
Now that the RIAA lawsuits have disappeared, the last measure that could have prevented students from illegally downloading is gone.
Or so it seems.
In fact, we all have a little voice inside us that can serve as a deterrent.
That voice says, "Just because you won't get punished, that doesn't mean it isn't wrong."
Legal alternatives like Ruckus and Pandora don't give users quite the same freedom for copying files as downloading does, but they provide free music and let students stay moral. Take advantage of these services instead of sharing files.
A fear of being sued should not be the only thing keeping students from doing something illegal.
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