That was the issue in RIAA v. Verizon, at least according to VZ. It was the issue today in a federal magistrate's decision saying two North Carolina universities don't have to disclose the identities of suspected file sharers to the RIAA.

I'm an absolute nut about privacy. (I once mortified a date by getting into a very loud argument with a Blockbuster employee when I refused to put my Social Security number on the membership application.) Privacy is eroding in our society, I see it every day. But I don't see how this is a privacy issue.

These students -- using the handles "CadillacMan" and "hulk" -- either made available for distribution infringing files or they didn't. The RIAA says they did. If they didn't they could fight a suit in court. These students chose not to, instead hiring lawyers to keep the universities from surrendering their names.

The universities sided with the students' lawyers. A spokeswoman for the University of North Carolina said they're pleased with the judge's ruling but said they don't condone piracy. (Larry Lessig always denounces piracy just before calling for the obliteration of copyright law.) So what UNC is saying is that they're not happy that their students broke the law, but the most important thing is to protect their privacy.

This seems like in loco parentis run amok. Let's play a game of hypotheticals, shall we? What if the students were using the university's computer network to: 1) Run a term paper plagiarism service. 2) Trade child pornography. 3) Plot a domestic terrorist attack. Extreme examples, yes. But something tells me that if any of these scenarios arose, UNC would be quick to give up the students. So why did UNC expend student tuition money to pay lawyers to fight the RIAA subpoenas?

Reasonable people can differ on the Grokster case, and where one draws the line legally between protecting technological innovation and artistic creation. But it seems to me unreasonable to protect an individual who is breaking the law, particularly when you say you don't condone that behavior. Either UNC and North Carolina State should allow the suspected students to attempt to prove their innocence in court, or the universities should 'fess up to the fact that they really don't have a problem with their networks being used to transport stolen goods.