Blogger threatened for criticising RIAA
An extraordinary story from Boing Boing:
Record exec to academic: stop criticizing us or I'll tell your university
Andrew Dubber, who is on faculty at the University of Central England, blogged a link to a story critical of RIAA lawsuits. Paul Birch, a British record exec who sits on the boards of the BPI and IFPI (trade orgs that represent the record industry in the UK and around the world) wrote him an angry letter, telling him that he wasn't allowed to post that kind of thing to his personal blog, because he works for a university that is funded by the government.
Dubber offered to give him rebuttal space, and Birch took the opportunity to complain that the record execs who ordered lawsuits against more than 20,000 music fans (in the US alone!) get angry phone-calls, emails and in-person questions.
Dubber countered with words about how suing music fans is a bad idea, and Birch closed with this threat:
It expresses opinion, it’s not factual. If you persist then I shall make a formal complaint to the University.
Your choice.
And this guy wonders why record executives are perceived as bullies.
Read it here.
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