Yesterday the music industry announced lawsuits against users of a P2P file-sharing service that's optimized to run on Internet2 links, which are high-speed Internet links that mostly run between universities.
Ed Felten has a brilliant analysis of the strategy in suing Internet2 users: by painting it as a "specialized" network with centralized control, the recording industry can position new rules for Internet2 that will cope with the "new" problem of infringement on I2 links.
Of course, the music doesn't have a new problem on Internet2 — MP3 copying doesn't need 400 megabit per second links to be effective. The problem of Internet2 P2P is identical to the problem of Internet P2P. But now the music industry can rattle its sabers and threaten the existence of systems optimized to move large files over high-speed links.
Given all of this, my guess is that the RIAA is pushing the Internet2 angle mostly for policial and public relations reasons. By painting Internet2 as a separate network, the RIAA can imply that the transfer of infringing files over Internet2 is a new kind of problem requiring new regulation. And by painting Internet2 as a centrally-managed entity, the RIAA can imply that it is more regulable than the rest of the Internet.
