Article ID: 1432

Last Review: Aug 4, 2009

Type: Article

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is blocked on campus

Illinois State University is blocking peer-to-peer downloads and uploads on campus.

Illinois State University is blocking peer-to-peer (P2P) network traffic in campus residence halls, over wireless, and on iSpot Ethernet ports. This block prevents you from participating in peer-to-peer networks, such as BitTorrent and Gnutella.

What is Peer-to-Peer (P2P)?

Peer-to-peer file sharing ("P2P" for short) is a network technology that allows people to download files from one another over the Internet.

Whereas normal downloads only have two participants—a server that hosts the file and a client that downloads the file—P2P downloads have many participants. Each client gets part of the file and shares what it's downloaded with other people. Since everyone is doing a different part, downloads are generally faster and more accessible.

P2P has several different flavors. BitTorrent is very popular and uses clients like Azureus and uTorrent. KaZza, Limewire, and BearShare are also heavily utilized.

Is P2P file sharing legal or illegal?

This is a tricky question.

Peer-to-peer technology is legal. The technology simply enables a person to download files and share with others during the download process.

Some people use P2P to illegally download music, movies, and software without permission. For example, Metallica's new album is copyrighted and fans who want to own the album must pay for it. Downloading the album without paying (i.e. without permission) constitutes copyright infringement, which is illegal.

Some people use P2P to legally download music, movies, and software. For example, the popular online game World of Warcraft distributes software updates using P2P. Nine Inch Nails released Ghosts I-IV through the Creative Commons license and distributed a portion of it using P2P.

The bottom line is that it's legal to use P2P so long as you have permission to download the files you're downloading. If you're downloading music, movies, software, or other copyrighted material without permission, it's illegal.

Why is Illinois State blocking P2P?

To reduce the number of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints, the University has opted to block peer-to-peer network traffic. This measure is intended to protect Illinois State's students and to maintain the integrity of the institution.

In the past, Illinois State, like many universities, has received complaints of copyright infringement from trade organizations, like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The overwhelming majority of complaints stem from student computers connected to ResNet.

What is being blocked?

All peer-to-peer traffic is being blocked in the campus residence halls, over wireless ("isunet," "isu-guest," and "isu-public"), and on iSpot Ethernet ports.

This includes BitTorrent connections through clients like Azureus and µTorrent. Gnutella networks, which use clients like BearShare, are also blocked. Many other peer-to-peer networks and protocols are also blocked.

Can I request special access to P2P?

If you have a legitimate need for access to peer-to-peer, you may request an exception for a single computer connected to ResNet. P2P exceptions do not extend to wireless or iSpot Ethernet ports and only allow access for your computer's IP address.

You make make a P2P Exception Request for ResNet if you have a legitimate need. You must visit the web page using the computer for which you want the exception, and it must be connected to your ResNet port. Do not visit the web page from a friend's computer or while connected wirelessly.

What else should I know about P2P exceptions?

P2P exceptions are for the current semester only. For example, if you get a P2P exception during the Fall semester, it will only remain in effect during that semester. If you need P2P access through ResNet in the Spring semester too, you must make a new exception request at that time.

Even with a P2P exception, you are required to respect intellectual property rights. It is your responsibility to make sure any files you download, including music, movies, books, pictures, software, etc., are legally obtained. If the University receives a complaint of copyright infringement against you, your exception will be revoked, you will lose access to P2P, and you will be referred to the Office of Community Rights and Responsibilities for disciplinary review.

Where should send my comments and suggestions?

Comments and suggestions should be sent to esuggest@ilstu.edu.

See Also:

Article Information

Article ID: 1432
Last Review: Aug 4, 2009
Type: Article