Washington - A bill introduced in the U.S. House on Friday would withhold federal financial aid from colleges and universities that don't test copyright-protection technologies on their campus networks.

Also included in the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, a larger spending bill introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), are provisions that would require schools to inform campus network users about file-sharing policies; develop plans to offer legal alternatives to illegal file-sharing; and authorize the awarding of grants from the Secretary of Education for schools to develop piracy prevention and education campaigns.

A similar bill was introduced earlier this year in the U.S. Senate.

"We are pleased to see that Congress is taking this step to help keep our economy strong by protecting copyrighted material on college campuses," said Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

The MPAA estimates that about 44% of the movie industry's domestic losses to piracy -- over $500 million annually -- are attributed to college students illegally sharing files over peer-to-peer networks.

The full House Education and Labor Committee is expected to vote on the proposed legislation this week.

Related Links:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel110907.html

http://edlabor.house.gov/bills/HEAReauthorizationText.pdf (PDF)

http://tinyurl.com/3ygd7h (PDF: MPAA statement)

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6217943.html

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975763.html