via the New York Times: COLLEGES RESIST RECORD INDUSTRY SUBPOENAS Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said yesterday that they were barred from immediately handing over the names of students to the recording industry by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which requires institutions to notify students before releasing any personal data. The Recording Industry of America has filed almost 1,000 subpoenas in Federal District Court in Washington, requesting information from educational institutions and Internet service providers on users of KaZaa, the file-sharing service. The group issued the requests as part of its effort to crack down on those using the Internet to illegally distribute copyrighted music. Both colleges said they were opposing the subpoenas on procedural grounds, rather than contesting the association's right to the information. "In this case we have been advised by counsel that the subpoena was not in compliance with the court rules that apply to these subpoenas, and did not allow M.I.T. time to send any notice as the law requires," said James D. Bruce, vice president for information systems at M.I.T. As a result, the refusals could further delay but are unlikely to derail the recording industry's efforts to unmask file swappers and ultimately file suit against them. (CNET News.com)