RIAA settles with 12-year-old honors student

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

A rather unusual article topic, in case of interest to readers of this
ist.
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RIAA settles with 12-year-old girl

By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
September 9, 2003, 4:05 PM PT

Barely 24 hours after suing alleged file swappers around the United
States, the recording industry has settled its first, agreeing to drop its
case against a 12-year-old New York girl in exchange for $2,000.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)  filed 261 lawsuits
Monday against computer users it said were exclusively "egregious" file
swappers. One of the targets wound up being Brianna Lahara, who was
identified by the New York Post as a 12-year-old honors student who lives
in a New York City Housing Authority apartment.

The trade group said Tuesday that it had agreed to settle with the
preteen's mother for a sum considerably lower than previous settlement
arrangements.

"We understand now that file sharing the music was illegal," Sylvia
Torres, Brianna's mother, said in a statement. "You can be sure Brianna
won't be doing it anymore."

The quick settlement points both to the public relations dangers of the
RIAA's shotgun lawsuit approach and to its simultaneous effectiveness.
Other sympathetic defendants are likely to emerge, but the group is
setting a fast precedent of pushing people toward settlement.

"We're trying to send a strong message that you are not anonymous when you
participate in peer-to-peer file sharing and that the illegal distribution
of copyrighted music has consequences," RIAA chief executive Mitch Bainwol
said in a statement. "And as this case illustrates, parents need to be
aware of what their children are doing on their computers."

The RIAA had previously settled with four college students sued in April
for between $12,000 and $17,000. The group said Monday that it had already
reached agreements with some of the latest round of defendants to settle
for about $3,000, but that future agreements would likely carry a higher
price tag.

<http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5073717.html?tag=lh>http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5073717.html?tag=lh

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