CNet News: Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else

If you’re a university, Congressional Dems want you not just to stop illegal filesharing but buy into DRM alternatives or the government’s gonna hold back your monies:

The U.S. House of Representatives bill (PDF), which was introduced late Friday by top Democratic politicians, could give the movie and music industries a new revenue stream by pressuring schools into signing up for monthly subscription services such as Ruckus and Napster. Ruckus is advertising-supported, and Napster charges a monthly fee per student.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) applauded the proposal, which is embedded in a 747-page spending and financial aid bill. “We very much support the language in the bill, which requires universities to provide evidence that they have a plan for implementing a technology to address illegal file sharing,” said Angela Martinez, a spokeswoman for the MPAA.

According to the bill, if universities did not agree to test “technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity,” all of their students–even ones who don’t own a computer–would lose federal financial aid.

Does anyone smell bacon?  BoingBoing does:

This is about as ugly as pork-barrel politics can get: politicians are so in debt to four of five ailing giants from the entertainment industry that they’re prepared to deny low-income children access to a college education if universities don’t punish kids for listening to music and piss away money on a useless service that no one wants to use.

The congressmen behind this are Reps. George Miller from California and Ruben Hinojosa of Texas and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. These three men are proposing to make colleges into a subsidy system for the MAFIAA. Remember those names come election time — and if you live in their districts, call them today.

Don’t House Democrats have bigger things to debate than how best to peddle to thuggish entertainment interests?

From experience, I can say that Ruckus is a piece of crap service that really doesn’t deliver.  VCU uses and promotes it (at least the SGA does, maybe it’ll be more hip if the kids push it) and I don’t have any figures, but I’m all but certain no one uses it.  Either iTunes still wins out or there are plenty of other, less legal means that students can still use to get their music.  Forcing colleges to spend money buying into programs that won’t work does nothing except continue to enrich a failing business model.