Digital Freedom University to Educate and Empower Students on Digital Rights
WASHINGTON, March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Digital Freedom Campaign (DFC) today released the following statement in response to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) distribution of pre-litigation letters to college students throughout the country.
"In response to the RIAA’s campaign of copyright infringement lawsuits against college students, the DFC has launched the Digital Freedom University Initiative (DFU). Through the creation of student-chapters at colleges and universities across the country, DFU will give students a voice in the national debate surrounding digital rights and freedoms in the 21st Century. DFU will educate students about their fair use rights, encourage them to obtain content legally, and help them oppose efforts to restrict or violate their digital freedoms.
"The Digital Freedom Campaign respects the rights of copyright owners and opposes piracy, but also believes that consumers, innovators, and artists have important rights that must be defended.
"The RIAA has the right to bring these lawsuits, but in the long run suing your customers will not be a productive or successful business strategy. Instead, we urge the record labels to put their resources into developing digital delivery platforms.
"The Digital Freedom University Initiative will fight to ensure that these thousands of college-age students, who represent future artists, innovators and consumers, fully understand their rights, and have a voice in the long- term solution."
The Digital Freedom Campaign is a national effort to defend the rights of artists and consumers to use new digital technologies. The campaign advocates against measures designed to place crippling restrictions or impose excessive fees on technologies that allow individuals to lawfully enjoy and create lawfully music, video and other content. More than twenty five organizations, representing consumers, film producers, independent recording artists, and electronics and computer manufacturers have joined together to launch the campaign, which seeks to educate policymakers, innovators, parents, students and other consumers about the lawsuits and legislation that threaten to revoke individuals’ rights to use digital technology.
Organizations that have joined the campaign include: CEA, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Media Access Project, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Be The Media, New America Foundation, National Video Resources and FreeNetworks.org, as well as more than 150 artists and labels.
For information about the Digital Freedom campaign, visit http://www.digitalfreedom.org/.
Source: Digital Freedom Campaign
CONTACT: Jake Ward, +1-202-448-3156, jward@qorvis.com, for Digital
Freedom Campaign
Web site: http://www.digitalfreedom.org/
