MPAA overestimates college downloading

Mistakes in investigation reveal lower number of pirated movies

By: Dan Scorpio

Posted: 2/8/08

For years Hollywood blamed college students for the rise in illegal movie downloading. New statistics show they were wrong.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) commissioned a study in 2005 and found that college students using campus Internet networks accounted for 44 percent of the industry's U.S. financial losses.

Newly released information shows that those statistics are significantly exaggerated.

The study was conducted by a consulting firm, L.E.K., and was intended to research the affect of movie piracy worldwide.

"While in the process of recently updating that study with current data, we discovered there had been an isolated error in the L.E.K. process two years ago that resulted in an inflated number for piracy by college students," said the MPAA in a statement released Jan. 22.

The MPAA, which represents the U.S. movie industry, told education groups that the inflated numbers are a result of "human error." It now estimates that college students are responsible for 15 percent of total losses due to movie piracy.

A cause for concern among observers is that no part of the original report has been released.

The MPAA "essentially conducted a secret report," said Kenneth C. Green, director of The Campus Computing Project, a study of technology's role in American higher education. "We believe that every part of the report: the methodology, data collection and analytics are faulty."

"They are trying to portray college students as 'digital pirates,'" Green said.

Some higher education technology experts believe the new estimate is still inaccurate.

Steven Worona, Director of Policy and Networking Programs at EDUCAUSE, an organization that promotes technology use in higher education campuses, said that three percent is a more reasonable estimate. EDUCAUSE has been questioning the results of the report for the past few years.

"The study did not take into account that about 80 percent of college students do not live on campus," Worona said. "Not only is their methodology severely under question, but it doesn't even pass the 'common sense' test."

The main purpose of the report was to pressure college campuses to update their broadband networks and step up enforcement of anti-piracy policies, Worona said.

Soon that pressure will be coming from the U.S. Congress.

U.S. Representatives are currently debating H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007. The bill, sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., was introduced in Nov. 2007 and contains two sections directly relating to downloading on college campuses. The U.S. Senate is working on similar legislation.

If the bill is passed into law, campuses would need to make commercial alternatives to file sharing, such as Ruckus, available to students.

"This option is pretty much pointless," Worona said. "Students have shown that they will not flock to these programs because they are unattractive and do not offer very much."

Additionally, schools would need to upgrade broadband networks on campus and install more advanced technology blocks. Worona said this plan would disturb already existing networks and create more problems.

"These ideas are ineffective, counter-productive and they just don't work," he said. "The plan before Congress does not say where colleges and universities will find the money to pay for these wasteful overhauls, but it is implied the costs will come from students. We hope Congress changes the bill now that more accurate statistics have been released."

Paul Gandel, vice president of information technology and chief information officer at SU, agreed.

"What is clear to me is that it would increase the cost of higher education to all students on campuses affected by this legislation because it would increase operating costs," Gandel said.

Specific expenses for installing new programs will vary from campus to campus, and details for SU's plan are not yet known.

Gandel said he believes SU does a good job making students aware of the university's downloading policies.

"We absolutely do not allow illegal downloading, of music or movies, on our campus," Gandel said. "There are procedures in place, and we will enforce them if a situation arises."

SU's piracy policy adheres to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Once a violation is detected, it is the responsibility of SU to find the student, inform the student of the alleged action and direct the student to stop. If the student continues with the illegal activity, then the student may be fined accordingly.

While students have reduced illegal downloading on campus, it still does exist, Gandel said.

"We have received a few notifications of such activity this year," he said. "But it is not a large number, and not as large as it has been."

dpscorpi@syr.edu