San Francisco - Numerous news sources, including Billboard and Associated Press, have reported since yesterday that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will announce an "amnesty" program for people who are sharing music files online perhaps as early as next week.
"Rather than demanding that 60 million people sharing music files turn themselves in with a so-called 'amnesty' program, the recording industry should take this opportunity to make file-sharing legal in exchange for a reasonable fee," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially since the RIAA doesn't control many potential sources of lawsuits."
EFF will continue to monitor developments and will post information on its website regarding the RIAA "amnesty" program as details become available.
Wendy Seltzer
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
wendy@eff.org
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
