Following a three month investigation, OSU police raided four residence hall rooms Monday, where residents were suspected of providing free entertainment to thousands of other students.
According to university officials, the students sharing pirated music and movies were draining 10 percent of the university’s computer system. This drain tipped off university Office of Information Technology administrators to the file sharing network. Search warrants were secured and the student’s rooms were then raided. Five computers were seized in the raid although no charges have been filed.
Students were using a file sharing software known as Direct Connect, to circumvent a router which OSU uses to slow down downloads. According to local media, the Direct Connect network involved more then 3,000 students and trillions of pages of data called terabytes.
According to computer detective Willis Amweg, who wrote the affidavit requesting the search warrant, a terabyte is equal to approximately 214,748,364 printed pages.
Although many OSU students used Direct Connect, few knew who was running it. Many students did however know it provided a fast way to download music, movies and pornography.
Recent court decisions have left individual peer to peer users liable for any copyrighted material they exchange on such systems. The students could face criminal and civil prosecution for Internet piracy if copyrighted material is determined to have been traded. The students could also face university discipline for violating university policies for computer use. OIT officials warn that operating a server out of dormitory is against this policy.
Recent cases against students at other universities running such file sharing networks resulted in settlements between students and the Recording Industry Association of America ranging from $12,000 and $17,500. Under federal copyright laws, students could be charged up to $150,000 for every song they traded.
