September 30, 2003
 

WASHINGTON (September 30, 2003) - Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), today challenged the operators of peer-to-peer networks to act responsibly and to proactively take steps to prevent and discourage the copyright theft rampant on the services. Additionally, Bainwol announced that the RIAA will send a notification letter to encourage settlement discussions prior to the filing of the lawsuit. In his testimony, Bainwol urged peer-to-peer network operators to voluntarily implement the following reforms:
 

1. Change the default setting for their users so that American children, teenagers and others are not automatically - and often unknowingly - uploading music from their hard drive.

2. Institute meaningful disclosure clearly notifying users that uploading and downloading copyrighted materials without permission is a violation of federal law.

3. Filter to protect copyrighted works. Technologies are there to block the uploading and downloading of copyrighted materials. No more excuses.