[Infowarrior] - MPAA-opposed college piracy amendment vanishes

[Richard Forno]

February 6, 2008 2:19 PM PST
MPAA-opposed college piracy amendment vanishes
Posted by Anne Broache
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9866181-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-
1_3-0-20

As the House of Representatives presses ahead with a sweeping
higher-education bill that includes new antipiracy obligations for most
universities, it now appears it won't be considering an amendment designed
to clarify that schools can't lose federal financial aid for failing to
fulfill those requirements.

By way of background, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which
is scheduled to be debated by the House starting as soon as Thursday,
dictates that universities participating in federal financial-aid programs
"shall" devise plans for "alternative" offerings to unlawful
downloading--such as subscription-based services--or "technology-based
deterrents to prevent such illegal activity."

University officials and fair-use advocates had balked at that requirement,
arguing that by their interpretation, they ran the risk of being docked
financial aid for their students if they failed to come up with the
requisite plans. The bill's sponsors, for their part, have long disputed
that interpretation, arguing that devising the antipiracy plans has no
bearing whatsoever on a school's financial aid eligibility and that any
suggestion otherwise is nothing but a "myth."

Which brings us to the amendment we reported on Wednesday morning. Rep.
Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) had revealed his intention to propose changes (PDF) to
the mammoth bill saying no higher-education institution "shall be denied or
given reduced federal funding for student loan or other financial-aid
programs" because of "noncompliance" with the antipiracy requirements. The
Rules Committee had been scheduled to consider at a Wednesday afternoon
meeting whether that amendment and others would be allowed for votes on the
House floor.

But since then, that amendment has been labeled "withdrawn," according to
the House Rules Committee's Web site.

It wasn't immediately clear why. A Cohen spokeswoman didn't have any answers
right away, reporting that her boss was currently on a plane.
Representatives from both the Education and Rules committees said they had
no information.

Perhaps the amendment was withdrawn because the bill's sponsors have
steadfastly maintained that despite what university officials have said, the
antipiracy obligations are not tied to financial aid eligibility, which
would seem to make Cohen's amendment extraneous. There's lingering
disagreement on that front from university officials, however, who contend
that by their reading of the bill, noncompliance would, indeed, render a
school ineligible for financial aid programs.

Another potential explanation is pressure from the Motion Picture
Association of America, which told CNET News.com earlier on Wednesday that
it saw no need for the Cohen amendment. A few weeks ago, an MPAA executive
also suggested he supported linking financial aid to progress in combating
piracy.

For the record, Educause, a lobby group that represents college network
managers, said the amendment wouldn't have changed its opposition to the
bill provision anyway. The fair-use advocacy group Public Knowledge,
however, took a slightly rosier view of the proposal, saying it would have
taken some of the "sting" out of the current version.