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FBI raids school district... in piracy crackdown


Kooperman

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Ars Technica Newsdesk

FBI raids school district, other targets in piracy crackdown

Posted 04/22/2004 @ 10:30 AM, by Eric Bangeman

It looks as though the Department of Justice may be getting serious about cracking down on copyright enforcement. While DoJ officials in Washington announced the launch of the Intellectual Property Task Force yesterday, federal agents across the country were launching raids on school districts.

FBI agents raided the Deer Valley [school] district's Administration Services Center, just south of Deer Valley High School in Glendale, at 6 a.m. and stayed most of the day. The site houses the district's information services and technology offices, essentially the "brains" of the district's computer system, said Timothy Tait, district spokesman. School officials were not warned in advance and even the district's top officials, including Superintendent Virginia McElyea, learned of the search warrant only when computers went down. Classes were not disrupted, but computer use in the district office was limited with no Internet access or e-mail.

An FBI spokesmen refused to name other sites raided and would not comment on what the Bureau might be looking for on the district's network. However, Tait indicated that the FBI was scrutinizing the actions of individuals, rather than the entire district. The school district blocks access to sites where copyrighted materials are freely available, and students are required to sign an "Internet contract" specifying appropriate usage of district computers.

While this may be just the first in a series of law enforcement actions, it's also possible that yesterday's raids were a warning shot intended to put the fear of God into schools and school district network admins. What is glaringly apparent is that the DoJ is getting serious about cracking down on copyright issues. It's a shame that they are more concerned with shielding the industry than looking out for the rights of consumers.

http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1082647855.html

http://www.fox11az.com/news/state/stories/....14a261d6b.html

http://p2pnet.net/story/1277

Edited by Kooperman
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FBI raids school office in Glendale

U.S. cracking down on copyright piracy

Billy House, Monica Mendoza and Brent Whiting

The Arizona Republic

Apr. 22, 2004 12:00 AM

Federal agents in Phoenix and elsewhere in the country raided schools and other targets in a national crackdown on pirated music CDs and movies.

Agents pored through data and records at a computer command center for the Deer Valley School District in the northwest Valley and blocked the office from the public. It was among other places in Arizona and "quite a few other states" where sealed search warrants were served, the FBI said.

The raids came on the same day that Justice Department officials in Washington announced the creation of a new Intellectual Property Task Force to step up copyright enforcement.

Some of the stolen copyrighted material being sought in the raids is suspected as having been distributed from overseas sources.

The raids are reflective of a new effort by the Justice Department to treat copyright enforcement as a higher priority, something that motion-picture and music-industry officials have been urging.

FBI agents raided the Deer Valley District's Administration Services Center, just south of Deer Valley High School in Glendale, at 6 a.m. and stayed most of the day. The site houses the district's information services and technology offices, essentially the "brains" of the district's computer system, said Timothy Tait, district spokesman.

No warning

School officials were not warned and even the district's top officials, including Superintendent Virginia McElyea, learned of the search warrant only when computers went down. Classes were not disrupted, but computer use in the district office was limited with no Internet access or e-mail.

"We were very in the dark," Tait said.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson would not comment on why the federal government was searching a school district's system, and he would not identify the other sites in Arizona or elsewhere that were served with warrants. Bresson refused to comment on the raids at the Deer Valley facility and elsewhere and would not say how targets were identified, noting the search warrants were under court-ordered seal.

Mum was the word at the Deer Valley site, where an FBI spokeswoman stood by the door and refused to give details.

"We can't talk about what we're looking for or the nature of the case," said Susan Herskovits, the spokeswoman.

Officials said a news conference spelling out more details of a nationwide operation could come as early as today in Washington.

In the past year, the recording industry has gone after people, including children, for illegally downloading music from the Internet. Earlier this month, the Recording Industry Association of America subpoenaed the University of Arizona to provide the personal information of four students accused of illegally downloading music from university computers.

Last year, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the link between international copyright piracy and organized crime, and the FBI has said that there is strong evidence that organized-crime groups have moved into intellectual-property crime, using the profit to pay for other activities.

On Wednesday in Washington, David Israelite, chairman of the Justice Department's Intellectual Property Task Force, announced the names of people who will serve with him on a new task force, created by Attorney General John Ashcroft. The task force will examine how Justice handles intellectual-property issues and develop recommendations for future efforts. The group expects to issue a report and recommendations to Ashcroft by the end of the year.

Internet contracts

In Deer Valley, school officials expect to have full access to computers today.

Tait said school officials are not planning any immediate changes to the district's Internet policy.

Every student, employee and volunteer in the Deer Valley District must sign an Internet contract, which outlines expectations for use of the Internet on school computers.

Among the expectations is that the Internet will be used for educational purposes only. Those who violate the contract will be banned from using computers with Internet access. "Some parents, especially of elementary students, don't want their kids accessing the Internet," Tait said.

Each person who uses a school computer must log in with a password, Tait said, which means every user can be tracked.

"It looks like the FBI is looking at actions of individuals within the district as opposed to the operations of the district," Tait said.

Deer Valley has blocked many sites from student use, including those where movies and music can be downloaded.

But with sites changing and with the sheer number of sites, "it's difficult to block all illicit sites," Tait said.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/n...hoolraid22.html

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