The university is greatly concerned about the potential effects of illegal file sharing on our information technology networking infrastructure and on the personal liability of our students. This letter summarizes actions the university will take over the next few days to protect our community.

Effective Monday, October 8, 2007, the university will block use of two peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs on its network -- Ares and LimeWire. Recognizing the accelerating demands on bandwidth from educational commitments of greater priority, we are unable to justify supporting P2P programs that are instrumental in the sharing of music and movies in violation of copyright law. In the competitive allocation of computing resources, the university may not responsibly support activity that places students in serious legal and financial jeopardy. To do otherwise would also compromise a fundamental social value: respect and acknowledgment of the creative achievements of others.

In addition to blocking Ares and LimeWire, the university will expand enforcement of university network rules against facilitating illegal file sharing. One example is the campus DC++ hub, which has been featured recently in The Diamondback. The operators of DC++ hubs will be offered an opportunity to demonstrate that their network usage conforms to the University of Maryland Policy on Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources and the Student Guidelines for Network Acceptable Use. Should a specific operator’s network usage not be shown to be in conformance, that operator will be asked to bring the usage into compliance. Failure to do so will subject the operator to administrative action, including revocation of access to Internet resources through the university network system and/or referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

We regret the inconvenience that these actions will cause for those using the university network services and file sharing software legally and responsibly. However, we must implement these measures to protect our community from the effects of illegal file sharing.

Jeffrey C. Huskamp
Vice President and CIO